Your credit report may have some serious errors - Here's what to look out for

There's a good chance your credit report has some mistakes, and those errors can change everything -- your mortgage rate, your car loan, and even your chances of getting a cell phone!

Here are some ways you can audit your own credit report.

A look at the errors

Your credit score is crucial to every financial decision made about you, but a recent Consumer Reports study revealed close to half of the people living in the U.S. found mistakes on their report.

More than one in four of those people found errors serious enough that they could negatively affect their credit.

"The really concerning thing is that some of these errors were financial errors, and that meant that they may have debt showing up on their credit report that's not theirs," said Consumer Reports investigative reporter Lisa Gill.

What are some of the most common mistakes?

Gill said the most common errors people reported were mistakes regarding their personal information, which includes addresses, phone numbers, and in some serious cases, social security numbers. Some reports even listed paid-off loans or credit cards as still being open.

Other people found evidence of identity theft and unpaid credit card debt.

The study's results are in line with data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which states incorrect credit report information as the number one consumer complaint.

So what can you do to remedy disputes and keep your credit safe?

"You actually start with the three credit bureaus, and you file disputes with them, and they have to go investigate and report and ask these financial institutions, you know, what's going on?" said Gill. "We have a client that says that this loan is paid off. Why are you showing that it's still open?"

Gill said the entire process can take about 30 days, and if it's not resolved, you can try to file the dispute a second time with the credit bureaus. If that doesn't work, file a complaint at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The last resort is filing a lawsuit in federal court.

"There are many attorneys who specialize in this, like credit for law specifically," said Gill. "It sounds drastic, but it sometimes is the only way to remedy a serious error."

Experts say you should check your credit score often to make sure the information is accurate.

You can do it for free at AnnualCreditReport.com . You can also sign up for free credit score or credit report monitoring offered by many credit card companies and banks.

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