Help! I Can't Get a Loan Because I'm 'Dead'

There are countless ways your credit report can get messed up, all of which can seem pretty annoying to fix. Perhaps one of the most unsettling problems you might find with your credit report is if it says you’re dead, when you’re most certainly alive. It’s not unheard of for consumers to apply for credit and be rejected because their reports incorrectly list them as deceased. But just like all credit reporting errors, it can be disputed and fixed. Unfortunately, it’s not always a simple process.

Why Your Credit Report Says You’re Dead When You’re Not

There are generally three reasons your credit report might incorrectly say you’re dead, said Robert Brennan, a consumer protection lawyer in Southern California. You’re probably dealing with a mixed file, identity theft or a simple mistake, and your course of action will vary slightly depending on the cause of the problem. Either way, you’re going to need to dispute the error with the credit bureaus.

How to Confirm You’re Not Dead

Obviously, having a credit report that incorrectly marks its subject as deceased can be really problematic for the consumer. Not only is a credit report one of the main documents consulted during lending decisions, it’s also something that may be reviewed by employers, insurance companies, landlords and other service providers, as they decide whether or not to work with you. As a result, you want to fix any credit report errors as soon as you find them. That’s why it’s a good idea to check your credit reports and credit scores as frequently as possible — you can get a free credit report summary every 30 days on Credit.com.

Once you realize your credit report says you’re deceased, talk to the credit reporting agencies. The dispute process for each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) is outlined on their websites. Keep in mind that the bureaus do not share information, so you need to check each report for accuracy and dispute issues separately. Brennan said to dispute the error in writing and send it through Certified Mail.

“Provide them with current identification (driver’s license, recent tax return, recent utility bill) and tell them to correct the status to ‘living,'” Brennan said, via email. “If the bureau fails or refuses, then the consumer has rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act which would include his/her damages plus his or her attorney’s fees.”

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What to Do If the Problem Persists

If the error is a result of identity theft, you’ll have more to do than file a dispute with the credit reporting agencies. Victims of identity theft should file police reports, check if fraudulent accounts were opened in their names (and terminate them), put fraud alerts on their credit reports, report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission and contact the IRS for an identity theft PIN to avoid problems during tax season.

It’s important to keep meticulous records throughout the process, because even if you resolve the issue, it could come up again, and you’ll want to be able to prove it’s an error — that will be a lot easier if you don’t have to start from scratch.