How Do I Dispute a LexisNexis Report?

Question

My insurance agent called and said my premium is going up because of my LexisNexis report. I had never even heard of LexisNexis before that call. I pulled the report and there are claims I don’t remember, addresses I never lived at, whole chunks of information that do not look like my life. Did they mix me up with someone else? How do I even begin to fix something like this when I don’t  understand what I am looking at?

Consumer Attorneys · Accepted Answer

When you pull your LexisNexis report and find claims, addresses, or charges you do not recognize, the most likely explanation is a mixed file. This happens when LexisNexis combines data from two different people into one report, usually because of a similar name, a shared address history, or overlapping personal identifiers. Insurers rely heavily on LexisNexis reports when calculating premiums, and foreign claims or loss history that do not belong to you can push your rate up significantly, without you ever knowing why until the bill arrives.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, LexisNexis is required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of your file. If your report contains information that belongs to another person, that is a failure of those procedures, and you have the right to dispute it. Learning how to dispute a LexisNexis report is a starting point, but a successful dispute only corrects the file going forward. It does not undo the months you already spent paying a higher premium based on someone else's record.

What to do now:

Request your full LexisNexis consumer disclosure report and mark every item you do not recognize
List the specific claims, addresses, and charges that look wrong, with dates and any policy or account numbers
Compare your actual insurance records against what LexisNexis has on file to identify what does not belong to you
Save the premium notice or renewal letter showing the rate increase
Keep every response or communication you receive about your report or your policy

The months you overpaid because of someone else's claims are real losses, and simply getting the file corrected does not get that money back. The FCRA allows consumers to recover actual damages for exactly this kind of harm, and in cases where a violation is established, statutory damages and attorney fees on top of that. Most people do not realize they may have a claim, or that pursuing one often costs nothing out of pocket. Consumer Attorneys can tell you whether your situation qualifies.