The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

According to last week’s Federal Reserve report, U.S. consumer credit rose by another $5.08 billion in May–a figure that suggested a willingness for millions to keep borrowing despite an exceptionally tight job market.

In a recap of these new figures by Reuters, the news agency said, “The May rise, coming after a revised $5.67 billion increase in April, handily topped forecasts by Wall Street economists for a $4 billion increase and marked the eighth straight month of growth in consumer credit. The total of all consumer credit outstanding in May was $2.432 trillion, up from a total of $2.427 trillion in April.…

We see the commercials, hear the clever tag lines and are inundated with information about how to receive our credit report. So while a goofy guy singing catchy tunes about the perils of not knowing what’s on your credit report certainly has its marketing merits, his chorus doesn’t say much about what to do when you find something on your report that doesn’t ring true.

First, make sure that your report is indeed your report, as many of the mistakes found involve the most basic information, such as your name, social security number or birth date.

Look for items that are older than seven years, which signifies that a report item must be removed.…