New York SBDC Research Network

From BizJournals : An Atlanta firm filed the first class action suit brought against Equifax on behalf of 28 million American small businesses. The suit, filed on Sept. 19 by the Atlanta division of The Doss Firm LLC, claims that small business owners were disproportionally affected by the breach, as the availability of small business credit is often directly linked to its owners’ creditworthiness. The suit notes that “about 60 percent of small businesses use loans to finance their operations… from maintaining cash flow to purchasing equipment,” making the loss of credit of particular concern to these individuals and their businesses. From the lawsuit : Many of the 143 million individuals whose PII [personally identifiable information] was hacked are also owners of small businesses that heavily rely on personal and business credit to operate and provide for families across this country. Any business with fewer than 500 employees is generally defined as a small business – a defi...

Have you found a mistake in one or more of your credit reports?  The Mid-Hudson SBDC has compiled guidance on how to fix an error on your report.   How To Dispute an Error in Your Equifax Credit Report If you find an error in your Equifax Credit Report or in any of the products that contain information from your file, you should initiate an investigation with us free of charge using one of the three methods described below. We will investigate your concerns directly at the source (creditor, collection agency or courthouse), respond to you within 30 days, and send you an updated copy of your Equifax Credit Report via US Mail. If you are in the process of applying for a loan, immediately notify your lender of any incorrect information in your file. Your lender will need to reorder your credit file and score once any changes have been made to your information at Equifax. To initiate an investigation, you will need to have a current copy of your Equifax Credit Report. If you...