But look what happened to them:
They found the house of their dreams and made an offer. The offer was accepted, but they had to close quickly, because there were back-up offers waiting to step in if they failed to close on time. But that didn’t worry them.
Joe and Mary had investigated and knew what they needed to take along on their first visit to a lender, so went to their appointment with all the required documentation in hand, assuming that their diligence would speed up the process. The lender was pleased with what she saw and assured them that she could close their loan well ahead of the deadline.
But then she pulled their credit reports. Joe’s was worse than Mary’s, because it showed collections for unpaid parking tickets and the repossession of a car. But the past due balances on a credit card account they hadn’t used in years put both of their FICO scores well below acceptable levels.
Why? What was going on?
Simple – Joe’s identity had been stolen, and the thief was taking full advantage of it.
By simply accessing the unused credit card and putting in for a change of address, the thief was able to cash several fat cash advance checks before discontinuing payment on the account. And because that credit card was a joint account, it damaged credit scores for both Joe and Mary.
He had also used Joe’s good credit scores to buy a car, but after a while decided to stop making payments and the car was repossessed. More than likely, he’s now driving a car purchased under someone else’s identity.
Joe and Mary eventually went through all the steps to get the thief’s activities removed from their credit reports, but it took a few months. And as you expect – they lost out on buying the house of their dreams.
The scary thing is, this could happen to you. Unless you keep a close eye on your credit report, a thief could be having a heyday with your credit and you wouldn’t even know it.
Get a copy of your free credit report today – yours and your spouse’s! Go over each credit report carefully, looking for accounts you don’t own, and addresses that aren’t yours. Those are the first two warning signs that your identity has been stolen.
The credit bureaus will work with you to resolve the issues and clear your credit history, but it does take time. And sometimes, time is of the essence.