COLUMN: Watch out, you might have credit problems

From Josh Callahan's, "Under Construction," Fall '99 From Josh Callahan's, "Under Construction," Fall '99Do you know what your name is? Do you know your home address? It turns out my middle initial is W, just like a front-running presidential candidate. My home also seems to lie about 100 miles from where I thought I spent the first 18 years of my life. And I was born a year later than I previously thought. But I was lucky. I found out before it really hurt me. If I hadn't joined the masses and purchased a cellular phone this fall, I could've been applying for my first mortgage before I discovered that there was $2,000 in bad debt on my credit history. Except that it wasn't exactly my credit history. My Social Security number is attached -- either by fraud or by accident -- to a Joshua W. Callahan's credit history. And his failure to pay a credit card bill earned me a rejection letter from my cellular phone company. Thankfully, what I was turned down for wasn't all that important. But until I get W's credit history removed from my record, companies will continue to think that I'm a bad credit risk. Because it doesn't really matter what you think your name, Social Security number or age is. What matters is what CBA Information Services thinks your name is. Think of it as visiting Cheers in hell. CBA doesn't know you, and it doesn't care. CBA just makes sure you are paying your bar tab on time. When you apply for a loan, sign up for a credit card or rent an apartment, the company you're doing business with can call up CBA -- one of the largest credit-information companies -- and, for a small fee, get your credit information. That information is then used to determine the likelihood that you will pay your bills. With your consent, current and prospective employers can also take a peek to see how many maxed-out credit cards and unpaid student loans you've been hiding. Negative information, such as late payments or missed payments, sticks around on your credit report for 10 years. Good information, such as loans you've finished paying, stays with you permanently. This isn't just a public service announcement about paying your bills on time. As important as that is, it doesn't clinch a perfect credit history. In my case, all it clinched was complacency -- and that came back to bite me in the ass. The good news is, I'm not condemned to credit purgatory -- I have the right to get my report changed. Now that I know what is going on, the Fair Credit Reporting Act -- a set of federal laws -- allows me to lodge a complaint and give evidence that I am not W. After filing, incorrect data are removed within 30 days. (Bad but fair data, however, are impossible to remove.) Lodging the complaint is also free, as is requesting your own credit report. Maybe I am starting to sound like a PSA. So while I'm at it, don't do heroin, stop smoking and protect yourself from sexual diseases. And send away for your credit history to make sure that the information the financial world is receiving about you is accurate. To get your credit info: Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection FCRA Washington, DC 20580 (202) 326-3761 http://www.ftc.gov