The problem is measured. The limits stay visible.

Year

2012 study; FTC release published 2013

Population

U.S. consumers in the congressionally mandated national study and their reports from the three nationwide credit reporting companies

Numerator

Participants identifying at least one error; one in five. Separate consequential cut: five percent of participants.

Denominator

1,001 participants; 2,968 reports reviewed. The reported rates use participants, not reports, as the denominator.

Measured event

Participant-identified error on at least one report; separate error that could lead to less favorable loan terms

Limitation

Historical study result, not a 2026 prevalence estimate and not a prediction of what VetMyCredit will find. Identified error, report modification, correction, score change, and legal violation are not interchangeable.

Stale state

HISTORICAL. Never relabel as current prevalence. Recheck primary-source availability by 2027-08-01; if inaccessible, label the link stale without changing the historical result.

Source capture

S71 in the 2026-08-01 sources appendix, SHA-256 3f3df13a…c64d9ab

Copy hash

563c8f732bbe16ca58ac553f2832118360957734a315c804c7f0b0100878acf7

Primary URL: FTC study summary

Year

2025 complaint events; annual report published March 2026

Population

Complaints received by the CFPB in 2025

Numerator

Approximately 5,806,800 credit or consumer reporting complaints

Denominator

6,635,400 total CFPB complaints

Measured event

Complaint received and categorized as credit or consumer reporting; reported share rounded to 88 percent

Limitation

Complaint volume is not unique consumers, confirmed errors, or adjudicated violations. One submission can concern multiple companies, and third-party activity and repeat use affect volume.

Stale state

CURRENT FOR NAMED YEAR. Recheck when the 2026 annual report publishes or by 2027-04-01, whichever comes first. After that trigger, mark stale until re-receipted.

Source capture

S73 in the 2026-08-01 sources appendix, SHA-256 3f3df13a…c64d9ab

Copy hash

b26486c0caf97e87a53002e9bd827a71eb2c79dd3a22ca2a12879a4d874f425d

Primary URL: CFPB Consumer Response Annual Report for 2025

Year

June 30, 2003 file sample; analysis published Summer 2004

Population

Individuals in the relevant simulation sample drawn from a nationally representative random sample of credit files

Numerator

Individuals affected by the simulated failure to report a credit limit; absolute count is not stated in Table 3

Denominator

Individuals in that simulation sample; absolute count is not stated in Table 3. The reported share is 33.0 percent.

Measured event

Inclusion in a modeled correction for failure to report a credit limit, not observation of an adjudicated error

Limitation

The authors did not observe every actual error, the proper correction was sometimes unclear, only selected data problems were modeled, and results depended on an approximation of a proprietary scoring model. This is not a current prevalence estimate.

Stale state

HISTORICAL. Never relabel as current prevalence or a current scoring-system specification. Recheck primary-source availability by 2027-08-01.

Source capture

S76 in the 2026-08-01 sources appendix, SHA-256 3f3df13a…c64d9ab; Table 3 source text rechecked 2026-08-01

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0547578d0c6015c0e5788e5bc7e3e9b93d9b343cb49ac3109f169e33bbe7fe4b

Primary URL: Federal Reserve Bulletin, Credit Report Accuracy and Access to Credit