The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there are more than 100,000 twin births a year (and more than 3,000 triplet births!). Twins almost always share the same birthday and last name, and often times their social security numbers are one digit apart. It’s not uncommon, therefore, for a credit reporting agency like Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax to mix up twins and put one twin’s information on the other twin’s credit report.
Fortunately, the fix for this is often easy if this has happened to you. It’s often a matter of showing the credit reporting agency that it has mixed your credit file with that of your twin. You may need to provide a copy of a social security card, a utility bill, and/or other identifying information. Oftentimes, the easiest way to fix this problem is to file a dispute with the credit reporting agency. Once you’ve filed a dispute, the credit reporting agency is obligated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation. Once the credit reporting agency has the documentation showing that your twin is appearing on your credit report, then it should remove all of your twin’s names, addresses, employers, debts and inquiries from your credit report.
But if the mix up has caused you damage (for example, lost credit, a lost job, etc.) or Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion has refused to fix the error, you may want to speak with an attorney who handles matters under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In many instances, the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides for damages when a credit reporting agency has damaged your credit, your reputation, and other aspects of your life. The FCRA attorneys at Weiner & Sand LLC stand ready to help.