60 Minutes: 40 Million Mistakes: Is Your Credit Report Accurate?

These credit reporting agencies have been running scam operations for years. Trying to fix an error on their part is next to impossible. The FTC needs to shut them down immediately.

I suspect it's all about money (as noted in the piece). Civil judgments to these folks are just a cost of doing business, and are cheaper to pay than the alternative (fixing the system). Banks, credit unions, retailers, landlords, employers and many more keep relying on these "great American novels" as part of the application process, and generate fees thereby to the credit agencies. Credit agencies have done the math.

When (if?) potential creditors/lenders stop ordering these reports, or reduce their orders, and tell the agencies "why", then (and only then) will we see meaningful reform. I doubt more regulation will help, any more than Dodd/Frank reined in S+P or Moody's. The agencies would respond to any regulation by simply providing less detail to creditors, and thus less ammo for regulators or borrowers (as in "here's the score; trust us").

Here's a article containing a link to the entire FTC report
that came out today --- for those interested in the blow by
blow account.