You are a Jr., and your father’s car loan is on your credit report. Or you are the Sr., and a lender has just read your son’s late payments back to you. Neither of you did anything wrong. Two files were joined because, on paper, the two of you look like one person. This post covers that one situation and what I tell people to do about it.
Why a shared name can join two files
A credit bureau sorts the account data it receives into files. It does that by comparing identifiers: name, address, Social Security number and date of birth. The data a lender sends does not always carry all of them. When one is missing or wrong, the match rests on what is left.
For a father and son with the same first and last name, what is left may be identical. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau studied how the three large bureaus build files and gave this pair as an example. It reported that fathers and sons with the same name can have their files combined. Experian’s own consumer guidance describes the same problem, and notes that the two may also share an address.
What the suffix does
“Jr.” and “Sr.” are data, not decoration. The standard format lenders use to report accounts has a field for a generation code. Experian tells consumers to give the suffix on every credit application. Equifax asks for your full name, suffix included, when you dispute. If the suffix is left off, one of the few details that separates you from your father or son is gone.
Signs your file holds his accounts
- The personal information section shows the other suffix, a birth date that is not yours, or an address where only he lived.
- You see loans or cards you never opened, and you recognize them as his.
- A lender turns you down and points to debts that are not yours.
A mixed file is not identity theft
If your father or son opened an account in his own name, nobody stole anything. It is his account, sitting in your file. The CFPB lists these as two separate kinds of error: accounts that belong to another person with the same or a similar name, and accounts that come from identity theft. If someone used your information to open an account, that is identity theft, and IdentityTheft.gov is where to report it.
What to do
- Get your report from each of the three bureaus. Federal law gives you a free copy from each one every 12 months, ordered through AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Read the personal information first. Mark every name, suffix, birth date and address that is not yours.
- List each account that belongs to him, with the creditor’s name and the account number.
- Dispute in writing with each bureau that shows the error. Say that the accounts belong to your father or son, and give his full name with his suffix. Give your own full name, suffix, date of birth, Social Security number and current address.
- Attach copies, not originals. Include the report pages with his items circled and documents that show who you are.
- Send the letter by certified mail with a return receipt. Keep a copy of everything.
- Write to the lender that reported the account as well, and tell it the account is not yours.
What the bureau must do
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a bureau to follow reasonable procedures to assure the “maximum possible accuracy” of a report. Once you dispute, the bureau must reinvestigate at no charge, in most cases within 30 days. It must send your dispute to the company that reported the account, and that company must investigate and report back. The bureau must then give you the results in writing. Information that turns out to be inaccurate, or that cannot be verified, has to be corrected or deleted.
If the dispute does not fix it
Sometimes the answer comes back “verified” and your father’s or son’s accounts stay. You can ask the bureau to add a short statement of dispute to your file. The Act also lets a consumer bring a claim in court against a company that fails to meet these duties. Before I say whether there is a claim, I read the reports, the dispute letters and each answer the bureau sent. Keep all of them.
For how this looks in a filed complaint, see examples of mixed credit files from cases I have filed.
A file shared by a Jr. and a Sr. is one form of a mixed credit report. If written disputes have not separated your file from your father’s or son’s, a mixed credit report attorney can review your reports and letters. You pay nothing unless we win.
Admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; available to appear pro hac vice in other federal courts.
Sources: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681e(b), 1681g(a), 1681i, 1681j, 1681o and 1681s-2(b); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Key Dimensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Reporting System (December 2012), A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, What are common credit report errors that I should look for on my credit report? and How do I dispute an error on my credit report?; Federal Trade Commission, Report to Congress Under Section 319 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (December 2012), Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports and Free Credit Reports; Experian, How Can I Separate the Credit Reports of a Father and Son? (July 24, 2022); Equifax, What can I do if I believe my credit file has been mixed with someone else’s?
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