The Missing Data
You may have heard recently in the news that a large creditor recorded several million Amercian consumers’ personal information on a data-storage disk/tape and shipped it via “a reliable courier” to the credit bureaus. The only problem is it never arrived and can not be found.
What does this mean? To one of my loan officers, a great deal. She received a letter from the referenced creditor informing her of the loss and offering her reimbursement of credit watch costs for up to 90 days. Ninety days worth of a computerized “alert” notation on her credit if someone steals her identity is hardly going to cover the potential loss and expense of repair that she will face if her information is highjacked and used by someone else.
So who’s responsible? The creditor will, of course, wish to lay the responsibility at the foot of the courier. I don’t agree. It’s the creditor who put millions of Americans at risk by putting their personal information on a transportable medium and didn’t ensure that it got to the credit bureaus.
I’m a mortgage broker and I often send critical documentation to different locations. When I do, I send it by courier. Doctors and lawyers do the same. We don’t depend on the post office or some other mail courier. You get a real person with a professional service to pick up and sign for the package and that person delivers it directly to the recipient who must also sign for it. It’s done in a matter of hours, not days and you can verify quickly that your documentation is where it’s suppose to be.
Identity theft is devastating to anyone, but it can be so detrimental to some, that it is almost unrecoverable. Why? Mostly because the credit bureaus, while quick to report negative credit, are not quick to correct it. Also, even when it has been corrected, due to their systems, they often will begin reporting a credit problem again after the consumer has corrected it once.
This has happened to me twice. A creditor reported something deragatory on my credit in error. I found out, sent the bureaus and the creditor the correct information and supporting documentation and it was corrected. The account in question was paid in full and closed a couple of months later. Then after another few months, I check my credit only to find that the account is being reported open with the deragatory notation again. Several months after the account was paid off and closed!
Until creditors and the credit bureaus are held accountable for their errors and/or omissions in reporting, you are the one bearing the burden should something go wrong. It is vital that each individual vigilantly guard their personal data. Don’t give your social security number to any vendor you deal with simply because they ask for it.
It is imperative that consumers demand better controls. I would rather not have service from a company than to give them my personal information and risk my credit history. Checking your credit report regularly is not enough. Consumers must begin limiting their exposure until better systems are in place to protect our personal information.
Where is the legislation to protect our personal data and credit history? We have very stringent laws protecting our medical records which Congress implemented many years ago, yet we have very little to protect our personal data and credit records. Until we demand it, it will go unaddressed by our Congressional representatives.
Truthfully, while having my medical records protected against exposure is nice, I’d rather have my credit protected. Far more of my day-to-day experience is affected by my credit history than by my medical history. If stiff fines and penalties for violating someone’s medical history can be legislated, why can’t they be instituted for credit violations as well?