ROSENBERG, Texas – A fatal mistake on one Rosenberg woman’s credit report left her dying for answers, literally.
Jacqueline Laforcade, 66, is still alive and well, but according to the credit bureau Experian, she was listed as deceased.
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“It was very, very frustrating because I couldn’t get what I needed,” Laforcade said.
Laforcade told KPRC 2 the headache began on Dec. 11 when she was filing for her taxes with a 0% credit card, but got denied.
“I usually have an 800 and something credit score,” Laforcade said. “For me to get denied was a real shock.”
After looking into the matter, Laforcade learned during the process she was applying for a student loan for her nephew, the loan company mistakenly listed her as deceased instead of disabled. This caused Experian to also list her as deceased.
“We kept trying to call Experian over and over and over and over again for days, and we can never get through to them,” Laforcade said. “That’s when we decided to call Channel 2 News.”
After receiving Laforcade’s Click2Houston Help Desk ticket, KPRC 2 reached out to Experian for answers.
“Once you got involved, then it was they all of a sudden the representative from Experian called us within the same day,” Laforcade said. “It was fixed, like within maybe a couple of hours.”
According to Experian’s website, if you are mistakenly listed as deceased on your credit report, you should mail a letter to Experian with your full name, current mailing address, date of birth, social security number and a statement that you’re not deceased.
Laforcade said she took these steps, but didn’t hear back.
“I want to say that thank you to channel two, because I don’t know what I would have done if you guys wouldn’t have stepped in,” Laforcade said.
An Experian spokesperson told KPRC 2 while they can’t comment on specific situations, they were glad to have helped Laforcade.
There is also a possibility your social security number is listed as deceased. The Social Security Administration mistakenly lists nearly 15,000 people as deceased.
If this is the case, you must call the Social Security Administration to correct this information.