Take arms against a faulty credit record.(money)

It's alarming, but no one except you will ever vet the records that could determine your eligibility for a mortgage, car loan, apartment lease, or even employment. The three major agencies that track your credit record--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion--get all their information from creditors and public records, which they do not verify.

Not surprisingly, errors are common. Mistakes cause 29 percent of Americans' credit ratings to vary significantly from one agency to another, according to a 2002 study by the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit consumer group. As errors compound over the years, they could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in extra interest payments on a mortgage.

It isn't nearly as easy for consumers to correct errors as it is for the agencies to make them, however. It took one Chicago physician six weeks and repeated calls merely to prove she wasn't dead and could therefore refinance her mortgage. (She didn't want to be named for fear that her privacy would be violated.)

To get the record fixed, you have to mount a determined correction crusade:

ATTACK EARLY

Review your report at least three months before applying for a loan so you have enough time to correct errors. Begin by ordering reports from each of the three major agencies. They usually cost $9 each, although the price varies in some states. (If you have already been rejected for credit, insurance, or employment because of information supplied by a credit-reporting agency, the agency must provide the report to you at no charge if you request it within 60 days.)

The most common credit-report disputes usually involve mix-ups with accounts belonging to another person, according to the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group.