In todays society, we cant function without credit. We need it to pay bills, borrow money, and to buy our homes and cars. A luxury of the current age is that credit is often granted easily and quickly, a result of years of automation and refining of record keeping. The glue that holds it all together is the credit report, a document made available to lenders by the three major credit bureaus. When an individual applies for credit or a loan, the lender can see the financial history of the applicant and make a decision quickly. But what if the information on that persons credit report is wrong?

It turns out that more often than not, the information contained on a credit report may not be accurate. While most mistakes are simple ones, such as address problems, others are more serious. Here are a few examples:

The best way to fix these problems is to be vigilant. Check your credit report often and report errors as soon as you find them. The longer you wait to report a mistake, the harder it will be to repair since paperwork and other documentation often gets misplaced over time. A few minutes spent check your report once or twice a year may save you hundreds of hours of work later.