I hear you, and most of us probably have similar stories to tell. There are really two rackets here: credit reporting agencies and medical billing. Then, they have the audacity to add debt collectors to the mix, who primarily harrass you and threaten to blow up your credit score.
Clearing errors involves a byzantine maze and way too much time in an era when everything is digital. There should be stringent regulation around accuracy and we should all have free year-round, real-time access to our credit scores.
But, my point here is not that you can't live a normal life with a few credit dings. It's that those dings represent punishment that can impact you. For instance, you may not have gotten the best interest rate available on your subsequent credit. So, we should be advocating an end to these fraudulent medical billing practices vs accepting punishment from them, then trying to live with it.
Clearing errors involves a byzantine maze and way too much time in an era when everything is digital. There should be stringent regulation around accuracy and we should all have free year-round, real-time access to our credit scores.
But, my point here is not that you can't live a normal life with a few credit dings. It's that those dings represent punishment that can impact you. For instance, you may not have gotten the best interest rate available on your subsequent credit. So, we should be advocating an end to these fraudulent medical billing practices vs accepting punishment from them, then trying to live with it.