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WHAT IS A CREDIT REPORT?
Your credit report contains important information about you. It generally includes facts about your identity, where you work, live, your bill-paying habits, and public record information. Credit grantors use credit reports to determine whether or not you will be extended credit. Identity information includes your name, address, marital status, Social Security number, date of birth, number of dependents, and previous addresses. Employment data includes your present position, length of employment, income, and previous jobs. Factual information about your credit history consists of your credit experiences with specific credit granters. Public record information includes civil suits and judgments, bankruptcy records or other legal proceedings recorded by a court. A credit report does not contain information on arrest records, specific purchases, or medical records.
Companies called credit reporting agencies or credit bureaus compile and sell your credit report to businesses, which use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, and other purposes allowed by federal law. Therefore, it is important that your credit report contain complete and accurate information.
It is advisable that you review your credit report every three or four years to check for inaccuracies or omissions. You also may want to check your report sooner if you are considering a major purchase, such as buying a home.
HOW CAN I OBTAIN A CREDIT REPORT?
If you have been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information that was supplied by a credit reporting agency, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the report recipient to give you the name and address of the credit reporting agency that supplied the information within 30 days after the credit was denied. If you contact that agency within 60 days of receiving the denial notice, you can receive a free copy of your credit report.
If you simply want a copy of your report, call the credit reporting agencies listed in the Yellow Pages under "credit" or "credit rating and reporting." Call each credit report agency listed since more than one agency may have a file on you, some with different information. You may have to pay a reasonable charge for each report.
Three large national credit bureaus supply most credit reports: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. You may want to contact each of them for a copy of your report.
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Experian (Formerly TRW )
http://www.experian.com
P.O. Box 949
Allen, TX 75013-0949
(888) 397-3742 |
Equifax Credit Information Services Inc.
http://www.equifax.com
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 685-1111 |
Trans Union Corporation
http://www.transunion.com
Trans Union Consumer Relations
760 West Sproul Road, P.O. Box 390
Springfield, PA 19064-0390
(800) 916-8800 |
When you show proper identification, the credit reporting agency must then disclose to you all its information and identify the sources of that information. The law requires the credit bureau to disclose the "nature and substance" of the information in the file. You must also be informed about anyone who obtained reports for employment purposes in the past two years, plus the names of all others who requested credit reports or other information about you in the past six months.
HOW CAN I CORRECT ERRORS ON MY CREDIT REPORT?
You have the right, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to dispute the completeness and accuracy of information in your credit file. When a credit reporting agency receives a dispute, it must reinvestigate and record the current status of the disputed items within a "reasonable period of time," unless it believes the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant." If the credit reporting agency cannot verify a disputed item, it must delete it. If your report contains erroneous information, the credit reporting agency must correct it. For example, if your file showed an account that belongs to another person, the credit reporting agency would have to delete it. If an item is incomplete, the credit reporting agency must complete it. For example, if your file shows you were late in making payments on accounts, but failed to show that you were no longer delinquent, the credit reporting agency must show that your payments are now current. At your request, the credit reporting agency must send a notice of correction to any report recipient who has checked your file in the past six months.
WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE A DISPUTE?
You must make your dispute directly to the credit reporting agency. Although the Fair Credit Reporting Act does not require it, the Federal Trade Commission staff recommends that you submit your dispute in writing, along with copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position.
In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute; explain why you dispute the information; state the facts; and request deletion or correction. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Send your dispute by certified mail, return receipt requested and keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.
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