PSA for everyone here who happens to be a US resident:

If you haven't done so lately, go to annualcreditreport.com, and get a truly free copy of your credit file from one of the major bureaus. Maybe start with Experian, since they seem to be currently the most clueless.

And then, assuming Experian doesn't make you do cartwheels through the mail to get your report (and that's a big if) -- really take the time to read it. I'm confident you will find stuff that is not supposed to be there and needs to be disputed.

When you dispute stuff, don't offer more information about yourself. Just get them to remove stuff that isn't yours. And then check back periodically to make sure they did that.

By the way, if you're already paying for or using credit monitoring services (hopefully not run by the same bureau you're trying to dispute), they may also be able to assist with this.

The information in your credit file -- whether it is yours or not -- can make the difference between whether you get that job or not, or apartment, or line of credit.

So please set some calendar reminders this year right now: Roughly every four months, request a free copy of your report from one of the three bureaus via annualcreditreport.com.

That is all. As you were.