Credit Report Nightmare: Damned By Apostrophe, Saved By The Letter M
This is the story of a girl named Corey O'Malley, and a boy named Corey O'Malley, who had their credit reports accidentally merged.
Thanks to a hospital clerk's error, Ms. O'Malley had her credit score down by 300 points thanks to her counterpart's unpaid medical bills.
Read inside how it took her over a year to untangle the reports. Solving the snafu hinged on the letter M, on a single document, in a single database....
A few short years ago I was a naive 21 year old girl named Corey O'Malley. Like dear reader Paul, I had a Capital One credit card with a modest credit limit. I thought nothing of it when my limit was never increased, but when I got declined for a Victoria's Secret card -- I mean, damn -- I decided to see if there was something wrong. I went to freecreditreport.com (hey, the ads say its free!) and tried to order my credit report. Of course, this was my first mistake because freecreditreport.com is just a ploy by Experian (one of the credit reporting agencies) to get you to sign up for their $29.99/month credit monitoring BS. I believe there was a class action suit brought against them recently for their advertising methods. At this point, though, I had never even heard of Experian and didn't realize what I was getting into. So, I filled out their forms, answered their clever little questions about my credit history, and was informed that for security reasons they would send me my credit report in the mail within 4 to 6 weeks. Months came and went and I forgot about it and life went on...About six months later, I was researching new car insurance when a friend recommended that I take a look at my credit score, since car insurance companies use credit scores to determine how badly they are going to gouge each customer. At this point, I remembered that I had already ordered a credit report, but never heard anything back from Experian. So, I gave them a call. After waiting for about an hour, I spoke to someone (presumably in Bangalore) who informed me that they could mail a second copy of the report to my address on file. It also never arrived and a few weeks later I called back to complain again. I realized that there was a problem when they told me that they couldn't understand why I hadn't received either report because they had sent them directly to my home in Efland, North Carolina. Except that I didn't live in North Carolina, I lived in the state of Washington. I panicked. Fraud! Someone was trying to steal my pristine identity! I demanded that they send a copy of "my" credit report to my home address in Washington and placed a security alert on my file.
When the report arrived, I scoured it. Almost everything was at least partially incorrect. My date of birth was a few years off and my previous home addresses had been superseded by addresses in North Carolina. My bank accounts and student loans were mixed in with the bank accounts and student loans of another person. But it didn't look like fraud. Only one account was overdue and the balance was only $100 on a medical bill. All of the revolving accounts were current, all the student loans were in repayment and on time. If I didn't know better, I would have believed this was the real credit report of a real American in her early twenties. Except for the two social security numbers, which was a little odd.
I called Experian back to find out how I could contest my credit report. I compiled every paper I could find that demonstrated my name, Social Security number, and legal residence. Of course, the problem wasn't proving who I WAS, but proving who I WASN'T. No one gives you a Social Security card saying that you are NOT SS# XXX-XX-XXXX. No bank will provide a piece of paper that says you don't have an account with them. I know because I tried. And I tried because Experian told me to. The formal position of the financial institutions is that they simply report information to the credit agencies, but are not responsible for what happens to the information once it reaches a credit report. Of course, the formal position of the credit reporting agencies is that they simply report information furnished by financial institutions, but are not responsible for the quality of this content. So, they think nothing of producing a credit report that includes two Social Security numbers, one of a girl born in Pennsylvania and one of a boy born in North Carolina.
Experian declined my request for a correction of my credit report. TransUnion and Equifax followed suit. I soon realized that nothing would be corrected until I found out the source of the error.
Tracking down my male counterpart was by far the easiest part of this entire ordeal. Armed with a name, Social Security number, address, and the internet, it took less than a day to find Corey O'Malley's mother and convince her to give me her son's cell phone number. It helped that we had something in common. I grew up in the same part of North Carolina and Corey and I had attended the same summer camp in North Carolina in the early 90s. We were, obviously, the only two Corey O'Malleys at camp, so it stood out pretty well in my memory. Pretty big coincidence, I know. I'll get back to that in a bit.
Corey was very polite when I spoke to him, and more than a little embarrassed to find out that I couldn't get a credit card because of his unpaid medical bills. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even aware that there was any debt. I gave him the limited information that I had about the debt, and he promised to pay the balance. At this point, I went back to school and left this mess alone for a few months.
When summer rolled around, I contacted the collection agency that held "our" debt and informed them of my problem. I gave them Corey's Social Security number, thinking that they could call up "our" account using his ID. There was no such account. Nervously, I gave them my social security number. I was shocked to hear that there was a match. The medical bill from UNC was in my name and my Social Security number. I asked to speak to a manager. The manager politely explained that as long as there was a bill in my name and my Social Security number, there was no way that they would remove the entry. The formal position of the collection agency is that they simply report information furnished by creditors, but are not responsible for the quality of the content. Deja vu. If I wanted to change the record, they explained, I would have to contact the original creditor. Of course, I didn't know who that was and I didn't want to bother Corey for the details, so I asked if they would please send me a copy of my bill. "I don't know why you would want that, hon," drawled the manager, "you paid the remaining balance a few months back and the account is closed." I 'calmly' explained that I did not pay the bill, the other Corey O'Malley -- the real Corey O'Malley -- paid the bill, but that the account was still on my credit report. "But that's you, innit hon? Corey O'Malley?" Apparently, in this woman's mind, Corey and I are the first two people to ever share the same first and last name. (How horrible must it be to be named John Smith?)
In order to convince the manager to send me the collection account record, I had to formally switch the address of the account from Corey's Efland, NC address to my Seattle, WA address. I made it clear that I would accept no grief the next time I called and someone said "But we have YOUR address on our files!" before grudgingly giving up my address. When the records arrived, I spent about a week calling every fucking department of UNC hospitals and leaving a message for every administrator with a public extension. Eventually, one called me back. Her first reaction was predictable. The formal position of the university medical center is that they simply refer their outstanding accounts to a collection agency, but are not responsible for anything that happens to anyone's credit report. This did not answer the question of why UNC sent my Social Security number to a collection agency for emergency medical services rendered in Chapel Hill, NC at a time when I was attending high school in the Seattle area. But again, how does one prove a negative? How could I prove that I wasn't in North Carolina in 2001? How could I prove that I wasn't admitted to UNC hospital? A signature isn't required for emergency medical service, so there was no way to verify that the person who checked in wasn't me.
Except that I was very, very lucky. My parents, in their wisdom, gave their daughter a predominantly male name. The person who checked into the hospital was male. I asked the administrator if she could use the medical records to verify whether the person admitted to the hospital was male or female. She offered to call me back.
When I heard back from her again, her tone was more conciliatory. She changed the records and informed the collection agency that the account should be deleted (since Corey was not fairly notified of his bill, his credit would not be adversely affected). The problem came down to a confusion on the hospital's apostrophe policy. At the time that Corey was admitted to UNC hospital, the computer system was phasing out the use of the apostrophe in patient's names. Unfortunately, whomever checked-in Corey at the hospital was not aware of this new policy, and typed O'Malley, Corey into the computer instead of OMalley, Corey. Because there was only one match in the system -- an entry from the "apostrophe era" -- it automatically assumed that the two were the same. The Chapel Hill Public Library made a similar mistake when I was about nine, but it seemed a little more amusing then. Unlike libraries, however, medical records include details -- like gender -- that are sort of difficult to work around.
Within another four months -- capitalism is alarmingly slow -- my credit reports were finally correct again. In the end, Corey and I had our credit reports -- our very financial identities -- completely merged because of one medical bill with his home address but my social security number. I spent hundreds of dollars fixing the errors and lost thousands of dollars in credit that I really could have used during the lean years of my youth. It is easy to say that what happened was just a minor clerical error made by a hospital, but the structure of our economic system allowed a minor clerical error to balloon into a credit score 300 points lower than it should have been. I am not a stupid person -- I graduated from college with a 4.0 and highest honors -- but it took me months even to figure out what I was supposed to do in this sort of situation. There are procedures in place for identity theft, but what do you do in the case of an identity crisis? Every single actor fed me the same line; that they were not at fault and someone else was legally responsible. Alarmingly there actually is legislation that speaks to these issues -- the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Of course, the loopholes are so big you can fit the headquarters of all three credit reporting agencies with room to spare. Essentially, the law institutionalizes the attitude that everyone should just pass the buck to the next guy because the consumer has barely any legal rights to protect him or her. I later spoke to an attorney who specializes in consumer law and he told me that, in his experience, if I had not had the smoking gun medical records showing the gender discrepancy I might never have had the records changed. If a bank had accidentally confused the boy-Corey with a pre-existing record for the girl-Corey, such a error might never be corrected.
Since this happened, I've talked to a lot of people with similar stories. One woman told me of the three years it took her to have her husband's credit records separated from those of his father AND grandfather. In her case, the smoking gun was the fact that most of the old accounts on the record were from long before her husband was born.
Another acquaintance explained that she was forced to sue her mother for identity theft because her mother deliberately tricked the credit reporting agencies into fusing her identity with that of her minor daughter. All of these cases could be so easily prevented if the credit reporting agencies, financial institutions, and other institutions that use sensitive financial information were held accountable for their use (and misuse) of such information. Two social security numbers? Should be a big red flag, eh? Mortgages from before someone was born? You'd think that would catch some attention. Sadly, no.
And that is my sob story. A little long for a blog tip, but it truly was my worst experience as a consumer. And it will probably happen again the next time I break my toe on vacation in North Carolina or he decides to get a facelift in LA (my new home). Good times!
Corey O'Malley
— BEN POPKEN
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Comments:
Wow, what an incredible tale. Corey O'Malley (F), kudos to you for making your way through all of this. I'll leave the cautionary tales to others, but this was just a fascinating read.
Of course, about halfway through I assumed you and boy-Corey would meet, fall in love and marry, but maybe you're saving that for the Hollywood version.
What a nightmare. Kudos to fixing what seemed to be an unfixible clusterfuck.
"But that's you, innit hon? Corey O'Malley?"
Isn't that just the most adorably southern way of saying "but I know you're a filthy liar"? /sarcasm
God, that IS a nightmare.
@CatMoran:
The only thing that would have made it absolutely perfect is if the drawling woman had followed up that question with the exclamation, "Bless yer heart!"
This story immediately makes me think of Fight Club. Oh well.
One of my friends, Mark Johnson had a similar problem in Texas. Only he had about 3 different Mark Johnson's to worry about. One of them lived in the same town, and the SS# was so close it was scary!
The number one mistake Ms. O'Malley made was not calling a lawyer as soon as Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian denied her challenge.
This is fairly common, but credit reporting agencies have an obligation to investigate and clear up messes like this that are properly brought to their attention.
If they don't, as here, Ms. O'Malley would have been entitled to some compensation for her frustration, damages due to inability to get credit, and attorney fees.
We're suffering with this right now. Well, kinda. My husband shares his name with his dad, the only difference is the middle name - but it begins with the same initial.
On my dear hubby's credit report is a Sears revolving charge account that has been open since 1975 - when my husband was in elementary school. Of course, it belongs to his dad; however, we haven't pursued it because it's technically helpful in demonstrating a long credit history.
Anyone with half a brain would see it's not really his - I guess we should get on it and get it removed.
Dangit, comedy just doesn't carry over this thing - the long credit history thing is just a joke, btw.
Makes me glad that my parents gave a unique name, and that I have an unusual last name.
At what point does Consumerist.com become large enough to start applying political pressure?
When that day comes, the first item up for business is a total revamp of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Making it fair for consumers and putting responsibility with all creditors who report to these agencies as well as the agencies themselves would be a good place to start.
How could this hospital fuck up, they did not have the right social security number.
How could a credit company merge two social security numbers. If your is xxx-xx-xx01 and there is history for xxx-xx-xx02 then they should happily removed the history for the wrong social security number.
Why should you have to pay for a lawyer for these people to do their jobs and use common sense?
Just want to thank Ms. O'Malley for a beautifully written account of a weird and dispiriting adventure in the world of credit. I live in the U.S., and my only doppelganger (name-wise) lives near Dublin, Ireland, so I dare to hope we never run into this situation.
zentec,
Want real power? Then get enough clout that Congress mandates that credit reports are the property of the person. The individual gets to pick who will be their reporting agency. That same person gets to challenge ANY information BEFORE it is placed in the report. If the challenge is credible then the update cannot occur.
This would have possibly solved both Corey's problems as it could have been prevented before it would occur.
@r81984: because common sense isn't common anymore. These kind of errors and the aforementioned father/son screw up are quite common.
- Sam Glover :
of course a lawyer would recommend hiring a lawyer
as an employee in one of UNC-CHs IT departments, it doesnt come as a big surprise that one stupid data entry error caused soo much grief. they recently made a major change to ftp/telnet/data/email server access but only made a passing note to the change at the end of an email. fantastic place to live & work. . .its just the slow-paced, we will get to it later southern culture that ruins things sometimes. "oops sorry honey, we ain't usin' dem' daggum 'postrophes no more."
I would have just collapsed into tears during that. Honestly, good going at keeping at them, Corey (f).
Can ANYONE ever get sued for a mistaken credit report? This poor girl is entitled to atleast a little compensation.
@r81984: I work for an information broker (the kind of company that sells things like credit reports, criminal histories, driving records, etc.) These databases believe everything they're told. If someone mistypes the SSN but gives the correct name and address, it gets "crossed" with yours. If you have the same name as someone else and lived with them, same thing (fathers, take note - I know you're proud of your first-born son, but don't give him your name). Wives and husbands often get crossed-up SSN's (like when you're applying for a joint account and the minimum-wage data entry monkey types the husband's SSN into the field for the wife's, for example). In short, the databases are mostly correct, but they're still full of little mistakes. Most of the time that's not a problem, but sometimes it is. Your only defense is to get regular copies of your credit reports and force the bureaus to correct any errors.
The way the laws are written, there's not much incentive for the bureaus to get it right, either. They'll take the bad data off your report, but you'll often find it back on there 30 days later. Fight hard enough, though, and you may well win. I know of one case where someone got a 6-figure settlement from one of the major credit bureaus for exactly this. It took a couple years in court, but the bureau eventually settled. Part of the settlement was a non-disclosure agreement, though, so I can't say more than that (but no, the person involved wasn't me).
My Grandfather had this same problem. 2 Jack Mcguires and only one digit differnce in SS number.
@pestie:
In short, the databases are mostly correct, but they're still full of little mistakes.
Therein lies the problem, which is that people consider data and databases to be absolutely infallible. Once the data entry error is made, it becomes the truth and the truth becomes fiction. One has to prove the truth because, you know, computers can never be wrong.
i had a similar problem - my dad & i have the same name. couldn't get a loan when i was 20 despite a good credit history. i was especially surprised when the loan officer told me i was 'deceased' (my dad passed away a couple years before). i pulled my report: i had two credit accounts opened before i was born, a mortgage when i was 7, another when i was 14 & close to 20 pages of history that wasn't mine. only 2 entries showed me as 'deceased'. i could've just taken those off & kept the zero balance $30,000 chemical bank line of credit, but i didn't think that was too ethical. i took it all off.
6 months later, half of it came back & i got to do it again. rinse, repeat a couple more times & voila! i think it's finally gone. *wipes sweat off forehead*
Things like this make me appreciate the unique nature of my last name, which I usually despise.
My nightmare lasted over 2 years to remove a collection placed against me right after a divorce - when I definitely needed my impeccable credit to remain impeccable. Ironically, the hospital bills and collections held against me resulted from care received at the very hospital in which I work!
For some unknown reason, they periodically "like?" to provide the different doctors, labs, etc., with the wrong insurance information for me. Of course, this insurance company that is not mine refuses to pay the bill, and a cascade beyond imagination begins for each bill that starts this course. The other funny thing is that I had 100% coverage for all the care provided and shouldn't have had to shed out a single dollar nor worry for any of these bills.
My name is one of the most common in our country, so I don't know if that is the source of the beginning of the cascade of horror. The hospital has checked and checked and swears that they have only the correct insurance information in their system for me. They don't know HOW that other information was sent to the providers. They would re-submit the correct information and everything should be fine. It wasn't fine, and I ended up with the surprise collection when I thought it was taken care of. And as a newly single person, what a very nice surprise indeed. I won't go into the ways it has cost me money in interest related to my poorer credit rating.
But even AFTER just 1 month ago of FINALLY getting my credit report cleared from 2 years of fighting - as dirty as "Fight Club" fighting - as previously mentioned - the same hospital and my still-current-employer and healthcare provider (dontcha love HMO's?) started the entire process again with some new bills in June of 2006. Most of the bills were sent to my proper insurance, 4 were sent to that other insurance that I don't have, 3 were refused payment by my proper insurance because of something to do with my birthdate - oh what a wonderful world!
I am much more savvy now - after the untracked and unbelievable hours of phone calls, including time spent on hold that I logged, mailing and remailing whatever, crying, yelling, and, yes, sometimes really wanting to hurt someone! I am much more assertive and/or aggressive when needed, and I HOPE I can stop it from happening again.
Do we have any legal rights about this? I don't know that I have the energy to pursue it if I did, but I just wonder. If anything just to be rewarded at least the amount of extra interest paid out and the inability I had to get the 0% credit cards to put my debt on - easy to get before this fiasco. The emotion, distress, and time spent dealing with it - one can only wonder what amount to ask for for that. Hell, I'd just be happy to get my interest losses paid for. Through this experience I have learned that very few really care about was is true, right or equitable.
My maiden name is much more uncommon. My boyfriend suggested I change back to it. After reading of Corey's problems and knowing of mine, I just might do that and see if it doesn't at least purge me of the possibility of more problem's down the road.
The first mistake was actually being born into a society that believes in the ability of corporate bureaucracy to produce accurate data. Not to mention a society that believes that the solution to every problem is "hiring a lawyer".
Where is Congress on this? There are protections for identity theft, why no legislation on gross identity mismanagement on the part of credit reporting agencies?
Same problem here, my father and I share the same name, and his foreclosed home and delinquent status on several loans bleed into my credit score constantly. I've thought about changing my name more than once, but I doubt it would solve things.
My brother had an experience like that, he has the same name as my Uncle, except he also has a middle name, but never used it. He and my Uncle lived in the same residence for a few years. When they parted everything went to hell. My Uncle is a debt skipper and fled the country after maxing credit cards and medical bills. My brother is money savvy. You can imagine the hell that ensued. Ever since, he has used his middle name, and creditors have followed him from address to address thinking he was our Uncle. Unfortunately, Greek tradition is that you name your first born son after your father and your second born son after your grandfather, so you can guess how bad things can get. If I have a son, he is getting a middle name.
@myrall
I feel your pain. I share the same first and last name with my father but we live in different states and have different middle names. His credit and mines are perminantly intertwined. We've been fighting this for YEARS and every time one mistake gets fixed another one appears sending us back through the same hoops again.
@zentec: Consumerist sometimes makes available contact information for companies in need of some mass criticism. Maybe Ben, Meghann, and Carey could make it more of a structural feature of the site, a la Media Matters with it's "Take Action" sidebar, e.g.: http://mediamatters.org/items/200704100011
It doesn't only happen with credit accounts. It can also happen with your drivers license!
My husband has a very common name (Andrew J. Smith) - when he tried to renew his license, the New Hampshire DMV told him that he had unpaid tickets in North Carolina, even though he's never been there. Turns out it was an "Andrea J. Smith" with the same birthday. No problem, after seeing this obvious difference (female vs. male), his NH license was renewed.
When he moved a year later to a new state, he got to deal with the same North Carolina problem AGAIN - and this time, he found that "his" license had been revoked in two other states - once again, the culprit was a man with a similar name and birthdate.
Unless he changes his name, he's bound to keep running into these problems. We've already vowed to give our children unusual names.
@katana: Most consumer lawyers, myself included, represent most clients on full contingency, meaning the client never pays a thing unless the attorney recovers money for them.
That is precisely why laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Housing Act, and others provide for attorney fees: so that consumer lawyers can represent consumers even if the amount in question is small. For example, debtors being abused by debt collectors often cannot get more than $1,000, but under the FDCPA, those cases are still worth taking, because the attorney can get paid for their time.
So yes, I recommend calling an attorney, because there is almost certainly no cost for the first phone call, and may be no cost to the consumer for the representation.
Back when my twin cousins got their first drivers licenses, the state issued them the same number as it was based only on date of birth. Unbelievably, the DMV said they had never had that problem before. Right. So, they were told to pencil in a "1" and "2" on their DLs.
Now, off to change my name to QqahKnyushquahskiq.
@Sam Glover
You are right that most attorneys only charge if money is recovered. The consequence is that many take up cases only they think they will win. Needless to say, identity confusion isn't exactly the cut and dry legal victory that your average consumer lawyer is looking for. At least not the ones with which I spoke.
If you want to be the man to take up the 'identity crisis' banner for your lawyer bretheren, though -- more power to you!
"This is fairly common, but credit reporting agencies have an obligation to investigate and clear up messes like this that are properly brought to their attention."
Ha ha ha hahaahaha!!! Glover, you have no idea what you are talking about.
The law requires them to contact the creditor and ask "is this right?" The creditor then says "yes."
End of investigation. It doesn't matter if the data that is confirmed makes no sense.
Contacting a lawyer is also no guarantee. Regardless, you will spend years in court and these are very difficult cases to fight. One of the biggest took more than 10 years.
The credit reporting agencies also lie about the responsibility for errors. Many of the errors are their own handiwork. For example, ever wonder how figure out which files court judgment go with? Say, for example, there are 900 Tom Jones in California? They get info a court judgment in Palo Alto. How do they know which Tom Jones?
They guess!
Also, I had a similar situation as many have posted. I had an account on my credit report that I supposedly opened when I was 11. After mailing a dispute, they claimed it was "verified" as correct.
After I called, the rep tried to go into some spiel and I said "Look at the dates!" Then she said, "I've deleted that for you." No apology.
I also had a judgment listed against in a case that I won. I challenged it and they claimed it was "verified" again. So I called the clerk at the court and he said "no one has pulled the jacket for this case, there would be a notation."
When I challenged the credit agency on this, they said, "oh we contract that out, we don't check ourselves."
Thanks for sharing this story, C O'Malley. Unfortunately, the kind of treatment credit bureaus dish out to victims of "mistakes" is allowed by the laws passed by Congress. And that is a direct result of the fact that finance companies have lobbyists, and the ordinary consumers don't. As long as consumers have other, more important things to worry about come election time, then don't expect much change!
Good for you, Ms. O'Malley!
I'd like to add two quick credit stories of my own. One humerous, the other not so.
A few years ago my parents requested thier credit reports and my dad's came back as having no credit - as in no active bank accounts, credit cards, mortages...nothing. Needless to say he was shocked, until he noticed that the name lacked Jr., birthday was about 25 yrs to early, and his SSN was wrong (close, because he got his in the same state as Grandpa). After that he was relieved that his father didn't have any open accounts after being dead for about 20 years. It wasn't a hassle to get the correct report.
A couple years after that, my grandmother (maternal) got a letter from a collection agency in town saying she owed her doctor. Now bills from the Dr. were common as his billing office seemed incapable of filing with both insurances properly - but to have it sent to a collection agency???? She started telling my folks that she should just pay it, because men would come knocking on her door in the middle of the night to take her couch or car and surely if they say she owes she must. Finally, my mother went to the agency and "blessed" the clerk out for harassing a little old lady and we weren't related to any Paul Archer (or whatever). I don't know if the Dr's office or the collection agency were the ones to make the mistake but there were only two patients with the last name Archer, so they decided that the two must be related.
Arrrrggghhhh!
Credit is a scam.
If/when I have kids they are getting the most unique names possible.