This is getting very old. The house I live in is owned by my father. We also share the same name.
I look at my credit report from annualcreditreport.com a few times per year. I’ll look at equifax then wait a few months then transunion etc. Every time, I end up filing a dispute because they’ve got some of his crap on my credit report.
I just called Allstate to make some changes on my auto insurance and they had my policy and car with my SSN linked with his date of birth and email address. I guess because he once had Allstate and used to live here. Same address? Same name? We’ll just link it all together regardless of DOB or SSN or drivers license number. :smack:
Are one of those monitoring agencies the answer? I know it’s a paid service, but this is becoming a nightmare. The credit agencies have always fixed what I dispute, but that doesn’t help if 3 months later I apply for a loan and more of his crap is on my report since the last dispute. I think it’s relatively common for sons to carry a family name. Am i doomed for all eternity?
Or start going with your middle name for all legal purposes.
If you don’t have a middle name, make one up and change your name.
It sucks that systems aren’t better at distinguishing between the two of you, and that people are as sloppy as they are, but the only thing you can really do is make it so fewer database fields overlap. Name is a big one.
Data entry errors in SSN’s or DoB’s are much more common than in names. So in most cases like this, they ARE the same person and the SSS or DoB is wrong. So what they are doing is right, in the vast majority of cases.
Best thing you can do is like johnpost and walrus said: make sure your name as used is different than your fathers.
P.S. You might also consider a Father’s Day gift to him of a consultation with a Credit Advisor, so he stops having bad credit info to be added to your record.
I have the same issue because me and my father share middle and last names, but not first.
I’ve just memorized his info because several places use a third party to confirm your identity, they ask questions based on your credit report and either pass you or not. So despite being 29 I lived in Mobile AL in the 1950s
I advise you to keep track of your credit very closely and complain the minute something is wrong. There are services like zendough (I haven’t used them) that will help and send you an email whenever something is changed on a credit report.
I have a similar problem with 3 generations of similar names, and even though the first two have been dead for 20 years or more, confusion exists.
Just remember, credit bureaus absolutely do not feel any obligation to check data that is sent to them for validity; it’s a “buyer-beware” market, and if you don’t complain, nobody’s gonna!
My brother-in-law has the OPPOSITE problem. His name is Joe L. Blow, he named his son Joe E Blow.
Joe E Blow has been trouble since before he turned 18. Arrests, jail, bad checks, rotten work history, evictions, and other nonsense.
Creditors have been knocking on Joe L. Blow’s door demanding money. And they do NOT want to hear, “Check the SSN, check the date of birth, check the middle initial. You want my SON.”
No. They want MONEY. They want money NOW.
Joe E. Blow tried to refinance the parental home, and almost got away with it. Along with the DA’s office and the creditors, Joe L. Blow has to worry about possibly losing his house.
My sister-in-law has put it bluntly: NEVER name a son after the father!
~VOW
Hell, I had the same problem with someone that had the same first&middle&last names as me and lived in the same suburb but no relation. This guy was a real character in trouble with the law etc and HIS crap would show up.
If your dad’s cooperative, he could help from his end, too, and make sure he’s also using a differentiating suffix. He could also check his reports and make sure everything’s matching. If it’s the same creditors showing up again on your reports after corrections were made, dad could help by contacting those creditors himself to make sure they report with the correct differing name, SSN, and DOB.
Hire a lawyer. Sue everyone who continues to harass Joe L. after he has informed them of the situation. Almost every state has consumer protection laws. Joe L. can’t just slam the door and expect them to go away, but certified letters should and WILL stop these sleazy collectors. If not, he has a great cause of action. IANAL. YMMV.
