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On May 5, the Policy and Economic Research Council (PERC) released the results of a study on the accuracy of data collected and maintained by the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — as well as the impact of credit report dispute outcomes.

More than 2,000 consumers were asked to examine their credit report entries, spot potential inaccuracies, file disputes if necessary and then discuss their satisfaction with the outcome. The results of the study clearly demonstrate that the vast majority of credit reports are accurate, and it is extremely rare for an error to materially impact a consumer’s access to credit or the terms of that credit. Furthermore, when consumers participated in the dispute process to correct information on their credit report, more than 95 percent of the consumers surveyed said that they were satisfied by the process.

• Fewer than 1 percent (0.93 percent) of the credit reports examined by the consumers contained errors that led to a credit score correction and increase of a consumer’s score by 25 points or more
• Only 0.50 percent of the credit reports studied had their credit score moved into a higher “credit risk tier” as a result of the dispute process
• Ninety-five percent of consumers who found an error on their credit report and used the dispute process to correct it were satisfied with the outcome

A copy of the PERC study can be obtained from the following link: U.S. Consumer Credit Reports: Measuring Accuracy and Dispute Impacts.

 

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