When I moved to San Francisco and tried to open a checking account at Wells Fargo Bank last month, I found out first- hand just how big a problem this "dirty data" can be. The moment the bank's computer's turned up alleged dirt on me, I was no longer someone they wanted as a customer. Bank of America said the same thing. There's a presumtion of guilt when it comes to credit data.(:45)

Like so many other Americans, I found myself fighting simply for the right to open a checking account. But a Dallas- based company called ChexSystems had collected wrong data on me more than three years ago. They never bothered to fix it, and the bank that erroneously reported me to ChexSystemsnever bothered to correct it themselves. Now it was my task to set the record straight... something I naively thought would be easy. 1:05

But the nightmare was just beginning. In order to get the information corrected I had to turn over even *more* personal data to ChexSystems. Without telling me what they were up to, the company added all of this to their ever growing file on me.

My case isn't unique of course. When my brother and sister-in-law bought their house, my dad's credit information got all mixed up with my brother's. Since they share the same first and last name, the credit companies are too technologically inept -- or simply too lazy -- to bother getting it right the first time. 1:45

So once you get the information corrected, all is well right? Well, not exactly. In most cases, you'll need to make sure the data is removed, not just corrected. In the end, often the only way to ensure the data collected on you is correct is to buy your credit report once a year and scan it for errors. This is the most egregious part of the system: YOU pay to make sure *their* data is correct. 2:05

The credit bureau folks say their data is just fine, thanks, and that if it WAS wrong, banks wouldn't use it. That lame rationale is self- perpetuating. Wells Fargo and Bank of America executives probably see regular reports on how these credit bureaus stopped people like me from opening an account. 2:20

Computerized information, to these folks, is never wrong. And in the Information Age, this is a terribly frightening notion. If you are not scared about this issue, see for yourself what information these credit and data bureaus have collected on you. 2:35

Related Links

PIRG Study (http://www.pirg.org/consumer/credit/mistakes/page1.htm)