--- name: consumer-report-accuracy description: > Use this skill to help a consumer audit and correct the data on a consumer report — personal identifying information (PII) and the key tradeline data points that control reporting duration, scoring, and statute-of-limitations exposure. Triggers include "wrong info on my credit report", "update my address on my report", "remove old address", "wrong employer on report", "wrong name / phone number", "Date of First Delinquency", "DOFD", "re-aged debt", "they re-aged my account", "debt buyer changed the date", "how long can this stay on my report", "disputed by consumer", "mark it disputed", "dispute comment", "why didn't my score go up", "the dispute flag is missing", "monitor my report weekly", "annualcreditreport.com". Covers PII hygiene (removing stale addresses/phones that cause mistaken matches and fraud, and requesting a furnisher's contact info when active reporting blocks removal), the Date of First Delinquency as the legal clock for the ~7-year reporting period (15 U.S.C. § 1681c) and for debt statute-of-limitations analysis, watching for debt-buyer re-aging, ensuring disputed items carry the "disputed by consumer" flag so they are excluded from scoring (immediate score lift), and a monitoring cadence (weekly pulls; sticky-note annotation of questionable items to organize evidence). Produces PII correction requests, re-aging challenge letters, and dispute-mark verification checklists. Composes with consumer-report-ordering, consumer-credit-disputes, consumer-harm-documentation, consumer-credit-monitoring, the state *-consumer-debt bundles, and the state *-pro-se skills. version: 0.1.0 --- # Consumer Report Accuracy & Key Data Points > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** This skill produces drafting aids and checklists. It is not legal advice > and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Verify every deadline, dollar threshold, > and statutory citation against current law before relying on or filing anything. ## Purpose Once the reports are in hand (`consumer-report-ordering`), read them like an adjuster. Two layers matter: the **PII block** (who the report thinks you are) and the **tradeline data points** (what it says you did and for how long). Errors in either cause mistaken matches, fraud exposure, depressed scores, and extended liability on old debt. Statutory text: [`../../references/federal-debt-laws/FCRA.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/FCRA.md). ## PII hygiene Review and, where possible, correct **all** identifying fields: legal name and variants, current and former **addresses**, **phone numbers**, and **employer** information. - **Remove stale or wrong addresses and phone numbers.** Old data invites **mistaken merging** of another person's records into the file and makes **identity fraud** easier to pull off. Fewer, accurate data points = fewer wrong matches. - **When a furnisher's active reporting blocks removal:** some PII can't be deleted while a furnisher is actively reporting an account tied to it. In that case, **request the furnisher's contact information** from the CRA and pursue the correction at the source (furnisher dispute under § 1681s-2(b)) rather than only at the bureau. ## The Date of First Delinquency (DOFD) — the master clock The **Date of First Delinquency** is the single most important date on a tradeline. It sets: - **Reporting duration** — most negative items must come off ~**7 years** from the DOFD (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). The DOFD does **not** reset when a debt is sold or paid. - **Statute-of-limitations analysis** — the DOFD anchors how old the debt is for SOL purposes under the applicable **state** law (route the SOL determination to the relevant `*-consumer-debt` bundle). **Watch for re-aging.** Debt buyers and some furnishers **alter the DOFD** to a later date to keep a stale account reporting (and to make a time-barred debt look collectible). Re-aging is a reportable, disputable violation. If the DOFD looks inconsistent across the Big-3 or has moved, flag it and challenge it. ## The "disputed by consumer" flag When an item is under dispute, it should be marked **"disputed by the consumer"** on the report. - A properly marked item is **excluded from credit-score calculation** — which typically produces an **immediate score increase** while the item remains on the file pending resolution. - After filing a dispute, **verify the mark actually appears.** A **missing or incorrect** dispute comment signals the dispute was not properly processed — loop back to `consumer-credit-disputes` and correct it. ## Monitoring cadence & evidence organization - Pull reports regularly via **annualcreditreport.com**, and where available use **weekly pulls** to watch dispute status and catch changes quickly. - **Annotate as you go:** mark questionable items with **sticky notes** (or the digital equivalent) so the evidence is organized for disputes and any later claim — which line, which bureau, what's wrong, and what proof exists. ## Artifacts this skill drafts - **PII correction request** — itemizes wrong/stale name, address, phone, employer fields to correct or delete, per CRA. - **Re-aging challenge letter** — identifies the altered DOFD, states the correct date with proof, and demands correction (paired with the § 1681i dispute from `consumer-credit-disputes`). - **Dispute-mark verification checklist** — confirms each disputed tradeline carries the "disputed by consumer" comment on each bureau, flagging any that don't. Each artifact ends with the `NOT LEGAL ADVICE` disclaimer. ## Related federal authority - **Reg V § 1022.42 (12 CFR Part 1022)** — [`../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-V.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-V.md). Imposes the furnisher's **accuracy and integrity** duties that a re-aged Date of First Delinquency, a stale tradeline, or a mismatched-PII account violates. - **FDCPA § 1692e(8)** — [`../../references/federal-debt-laws/FDCPA.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/FDCPA.md). When a collector reports a debt without noting the consumer's dispute, the **missing "disputed by consumer" notation is itself an FDCPA violation** — tie the report defect to the statute. ## Composition - Get the reports → **`consumer-report-ordering`**. - File the lawful dispute that effects the correction → **`consumer-credit-disputes`**. - DOFD-driven SOL / time-barred-debt analysis → the state **`*-consumer-debt`** bundle. - Preserve proof of errors and harm → **`consumer-harm-documentation`**. - Keep watching and propagate corrections → **`consumer-credit-monitoring`**. - Pro-se mechanics → the state **`*-pro-se`** skill.