WASHINGTON (February 11, 2013)—A Federal Trade Commission study finds that 20 percent of consumers had an error in a credit report issued by a major agency and also says 5 percent of the consumers identified errors in their reports that could lead to them paying more for mortgages, auto loans or other financial products.

The study looked at reports for 1,001 consumers issued by the three major agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The FTC hired researchers to help consumers identify potential errors.

The results of the study closely match the results of a yearlong investigation by The Columbus Dispatch.

The Ohio newspaper's report last year said that thousands of consumers were denied loans because of errors on their credit reports.

The FTC said the findings underline the importance of consumers checking their credit reports.