> Why is it not already this way? Because the credit industry can afford better lobbyists and lawyers than you. A normal, rational person would indeed know th

> Why is it not already this way? Because the credit industry can afford better lobbyists and lawyers than you. A normal, rational person would indeed know that to be libel, but US treats damage to reputation differently from Europe. I'm not a lawyer, but I think in the US you have to prove the allegation was false, that they knew it was false when making it, and that the false statement actually caused you harm. The businesses in the industry establish the reasonable norms for knowing when something is false. The CRAs say they trust the creditors to report accurate information, and the creditors say they trust the CRAs to match reports to the correct records. They both point at the identity thief as the true culprit. But you can't sue them, because they used your name, and no one knows who they really are. Essentially, it's a blame-shifting shell game that only holds up because of the massive amount of money flowing through the industry.