The FTC issued another report to Congress last week detailing progress made regarding a forthcoming study of credit report errors.

The study will involve roughly 1,000 randomly selected consumers throughout the nation.

Each will be paired with a so-called expert, who will review their credit reports with all 3 major credit bureaus to help identify potential errors.

Participants will be encouraged to dispute any errors on their credit reports that could affect their credit standing, and those with errors will be sent to Fico (formerly Fair Isaac) for rescoring.

The study aims to determine the proportion of consumers with one or more material errors on their credit reports.

It will measure their frequency and impact on a consumer’s credit score.

Errors will be categorized by type and severity in terms of credit harm and if deemed appropriate, the report may also include recommendations for legislative or administrative action.

Of course, it’s not due until December 2012, so until then you’re on your own.

My guess is that the most common and devastating type of credit report error will be medical collections.

Medical collections seem to be very common and detrimental, leaving even the most creditworthy consumer with a bad credit score.

If you think you’ve got an error on your credit report, it’s simple to execute a credit report dispute online, so don’t hesitate.

They take time, so be sure to act early if anything seems awry.

All this credit stuff can get pretty complicated.

But two things you should have a handle on are credit reports and credit scores. Each are important in their own right, and both are necessary to assess your overall standing as a consumer.

While the pair certainly overlap, they are two entirely different things.

Credit Reports

A credit report contains a wealth of information about you, including basics like your name, address, social security number, and employment history.

Additionally, your credit report will list your credit history, with information on the types of accounts you’ve got open, how long they’ve been established, what their associated balances are, and if they’re current or derogatory (collections, charge-offs).

Any recent credit inquiries will also show up on a credit report so creditors can determine if you’ve been shopping around for new credit.

While all this information can be very helpful to both consumers and creditors, both parties seem to be most interested in credit scores.

Credit Scores

A credit score is simply a three-digit number between 300-850 (credit score range) for Fico scores, and slightly higher for VantageScore.

Generally, a credit report will contain three credit scores, one for each of the main credit bureaus. These c

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There are many reasons why credit reports are requested, ranging from new business partnerships, prospective tenants or lease agreements, and  loan/credit card application approval amongst others. While credit reports are often fairly accurate, there are some instances when the information contained on the report may be outdated or inaccurate.

Fortunately, there are ways to change the information contained on the credit report. When information is found to be inaccurate by the credit reporting agency it is usually removed from the report or revised within thirty days of the complaint.

What Information Can Be Revised?

Although it is not possible to dispute the actual credit score, there are many details contained on a  credit report that can be disputed. T

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Credit card debt should be one of the first areas to tackle for Aussie consumers looking to repair a damaged credit rating, it has been claimed.

According to the Independent Weekly, those who wish to overcome the burden of a poor credit history should immediately formulate a plan to help pay off the balances of their credit cards.

Once this first step has been taken, people can then go about restoring their reputation by ensuring that their balances are kept in the black and making their payments on time, the website advised.

It added that secured credit cards can also be a good option to help build up positive information on a person’s credit report, as they use bank credit as collateral to ensure that payments are made on time.

However, those looking to select the right deal for them may wish to compare credit cards in order to land themselves a competitive deal.

This comes after Bernard Fehon of Tactical Solutions offered similar advice to consumers who are struggling to control their finances during the economic downturn.

Writing for the Penrith City Star, he advised that those with several credit cards should look to consolidate them into one single product, making payments easier to manage.