**GAO-05-411SP**                      Published: Mar 16, 2005. Publicly Released: Mar 16, 2005.                  

-   
-   
-   
-   

    Jump To:  
-  Elder Abuse 
-  Services for Older Adults 
-  State and Local-Level Drivers and Trends 
-  State and Local Fiscal Projections 
-  Federal Borrowing 
-  Managing the Debt 
-  Summary of Funding Provisions 
-  Auditing the Government's Books 
-  Unpacking the Financial Report 
-  Highlights 
-  Recommendations 
-  Background 
-  About This Work 
-  About This Work 
-  Trends 
-  About the Center 
-  Why It's High Risk 
-  What Remains To Be Done 
-  Key Reports 
-  Newest COVID-Related Reports 
-  AI Use Cases 
-  Flood Insurance 
-  Past Pandemic-Related Reports 
-  CARES Act Oversight Reports 
-  All COVID-19 Reports 
-  Report Suspected Fraud 
-  Subjects 
-  How to Get Notified 
-  Past Reports 
-  Public Health Threats 
-  Explore the FY 2022 and 2023 Funds 
-  Status of FY22 Projects 
-  Lessons Learned 
-  Agency Reports 
-  Recent Reports 
-  Recommendations 
-  Supplemental Material 
-  Full Report 
-  Additional Data 
-  View Decision 
-  Downloads 
-  Previously Identified Actions 
-  Related Pages 
-  Associated Agencies 
-  Tough Choices and Opportunities Ahead 
-  Americas Fiscal Future Key Areas 
-  Retirement Security Key Areas 
-  Current List 
-  About The High Risk List 
-  Area Ratings 
-  Previous High Risk Products 
-  Search Federal Vacancies 
-  Past Federal Vacancies 
-  Violation Letters 
-  About the Yellow Book 
-  Advisory Council 
-  Related Resources 
-  Comment Letters 
-  Related Publications 
-  Contacts and Resources 
-  Major Issues Facing the Nation 
-  Meeting Strategic Challenges 
-  Additional Resources 
-  Resources 
-  GAO Contacts 
-  Mission Teams 
-  Operations and Staff Offices  
-  Organization Chart  
-  Why a Career at GAO? 
-  Am I Qualified? 
-  Company Culture 
-  Reasonable Accommodations 
-  Video Gallery 
-  Paid Internships 
-  Student Volunteers 
-  Professional Development Program 
-  Advancement 
-  Executive Candidate Program 
-  Summer Associates 
-  Externships 
-  Benefits 
-  Contacts 

Skip to Highlights

## Highlights

This document presents survey data for all respondents, as well as cross-tabulation results for demographic and other subpopulations of respondents to GAO's telephone survey of U.S. consumers' understanding of credit reporting issues. This survey was conducted in response to a mandate in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) which asked GAO to examine the extent to which consumers (1) understand and review their credit reports, (2) understand and review their credit scores, and (3) know how to dispute information on their credit reports and actually do so. To meet these objectives, we designed survey questions to assess respondents' knowledge of and experience with credit reports, credit scores, and the dispute resolution process. This effort resulted in 1,578 completed interviews, with a response rate of 48 percent. The survey was designed so its results could be generalized to the population of U.S. adults 18 years and older, and it was conducted in both English and Spanish. A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology, a discussion of survey results for all respondents, and summary discussions of selected survey results for various subpopulations are contained in our report, Credit Reporting Literacy: Consumers Understood the Basics but Could Benefit from Targeted Educational Efforts. Clicking on the following link will provide access to this report (GAO-05-223). GAO-05-223. The survey fieldwork was conducted from late July through early October 2004 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

## Supplemental Material

----

### How to View The Tables

                  - Click on the Table of Contents link located in the lower right of this screen. To read to the bottom of the screen, you may need to use your scroll bar on the right side of this screen.
                  - The Table of Contents contains links to tables presenting the survey data for all respondents, as well as cross-tabulation results for demographic and other subpopulations of respondents.
                  - After viewing a table, click on the "x" in the upper right corner of your screen to close that window.

### Navigating Through Tables

                  - To return to the last screen you viewed, click the Previous button on the lower right corner of the screen to retrace your steps and return to screens you viewed.
                  - Click the Next button to go to the next screen.
                  - We provide a link to the Full Report (GAO-05-223) at the bottom of each table.

### How to Make the Font Larger on Your Screen

                  - You can make the font larger by changing your browser setting. For example, on Internet Explorer you can change the font size by going to View and selecting Text Size.

## GAO Contacts

### 

Yvonne Jones
jonesy@gao.gov

(202) 512-6806

## Office of Public Affairs

### Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek
kaczmareks@gao.gov

(202) 512-4800

### Public Inquiries

Public Affairs
PublicAffairs@gao.gov

(202) 512-4800

## Topics

Education

Consumer educationConsumer protectionCreditCredit bureausData collectionFederal lawConsumersCredit reportsCredit reportingLiteracy