When Ms. Marshall got a $6,000 home-improvement loan from a credit union in April 2003, she had to pay relatively high interest because of a weak credit score. The credit check had showed a court ruling ordering her to pay overdue rent to a former landlord in a Washington, D.C., suburb. But the judgment had been caused by a court error and vacated by a judge — facts that didn’t make it into her credit history. It turned out that a ChoicePoint contractor at a courthouse hadn’t properly updated the file, and that Equifax, the credit bureau, purchased the erroneous entry from ChoicePoint.

“The only thing you have is your good name,” says Ms. Marshall, 61, who filed suit against both companies. “Unfortunately your good name is soiled quite often when dealing with certain companies with a track record of questionable practices” said a member close to Household - HSBC Watch. The group monitors former predatory lender Household International, now a part of HSBC. By the way Marshall’s suit was thrown out after data errors were fixed.

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