Your credit report
contains information
about where you
live, how you pay
your bills, and
whether you’ve been
sued, arrested, or
filed for
bankruptcy. Consumer
reporting companies
sell the information
in your report to
creditors, insurers,
employers, and other
businesses that use
it to evaluate your
applications for
credit, insurance,
employment, or
renting a home. The
federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA)
promotes the
accuracy and privacy
of information in
the files of the
nation’s consumer
reporting companies.
Some financial
advisors and
consumer advocates
suggest that you
review your credit
report periodically.
Why?
-
Because the
information it
contains affects
whether you can
get a loan—and
how much you
will have to pay
to borrow money.
-
To make sure the
information is
accurate,
complete, and
up-to-date
before you apply
for a loan for a
major purchase
like a house or
car, buy
insurance, or
apply for a job.
-
To help guard
against identity
theft. That’s
when someone
uses your
personal
information—like
your name, your
Social Security
number, or your
credit card
number—to commit
fraud. Identity
thieves may use
your information
to open a new
credit card
account in your
name. Then, when
they don’t pay
the bills, the
delinquent
account is
reported on your
credit report.
Inaccurate
information like
that could
affect your
ability to get
credit,
insurance, or
even a job.
Getting Your Credit
Report
An amendment to the
FCRA requires each
of the nationwide
consumer reporting
companies—Equifax,
Experian, and
TransUnion—to
provide you with a
free copy of your
credit report, at
your request, once
every 12 months.
The companies are
rolling this out
across the country
during a nine-month
period. By September
2005, consumers from
coast to coast will
have access to a
free annual credit
report if they ask
for it.
For details, see
Your Access to Free
Credit Reports
at
ftc.gov/credit.
How to Order Your
Free Report
The three nationwide
consumer reporting
companies have set
up one website,
toll-free telephone
number, and mailing
address through
which you can order
your free annual
report. To order,
visit
www.annualcreditreport.com,
call 877-322-8228,
or complete the
Annual Credit Report
Request Form and
mail it to: Annual
Credit Report
Request Service,
P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA
30348-5281. You can
use the form in this
brochure, or you can
print it from
ftc.gov/credit.
Do not contact the
three nationwide
consumer reporting
companies
individually. They
are providing free
annual credit
reports only through
www.annualcreditreport.com,
877-322-8228, and
Annual Credit Report
Request Service,
P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA
30348-5281.
You may order your
reports from each of
the three nationwide
consumer reporting
companies at the
same time, or you
can order from only
one or two. The law
allows you to order
one free copy from
each of the
nationwide consumer
reporting companies
every 12 months.
You need to provide
your name, address,
Social Security
number, and date of
birth. If you have
moved in the last
two years, you may
have to provide your
previous address. To
maintain the
security of your
file, each
nationwide consumer
reporting company
may ask you for some
information that
only you would know,
like the amount of
your monthly
mortgage payment.
Each company may ask
you for different
information because
the information each
has in your file may
come from different
sources.
Other situations
where you might be
eligible for a free
report
Under federal law,
you’re also entitled
to a free report if
a company takes
adverse action
against you, such as
denying your
application for
credit, insurance,
or employment, based
on information in
your report. You
must ask for your
report within 60
days of receiving
notice of the
action. The notice
will give you the
name, address, and
phone number of the
consumer reporting
company.
You’re also entitled
to one free report a
year if you’re
unemployed and plan
to look for a job
within 60 days; if
you’re on welfare;
or if your report is
inaccurate because
of fraud, including
identity theft.
Otherwise, a
consumer reporting
company may charge
you up to $9.50 for
another copy of your
report within a
12-month period. To
buy a copy of your
report, contact:
Equifax-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian-888-EXPERIAN
(888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
TransUnion-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Under state law,
consumers in
Colorado, Georgia,
Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New
Jersey, and Vermont
already have free
access to their
credit reports.
For details, see
Your Access to Free
Credit Reports
at
ftc.gov/credit.
Correcting Errors
Under the FCRA, both
the consumer
reporting company
and the information
provider (that is,
the person, company,
or organization that
provides information
about you to a
consumer reporting
company) are
responsible for
correcting
inaccurate or
incomplete
information in your
report. To take
advantage of all
your rights under
this law, contact
the consumer
reporting company
and the information
provider.
Step One
Tell the consumer
reporting company,
in writing, what
information you
think is inaccurate.
Include 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, state the
facts and explain
why you dispute the
information, and
request that it be
removed or
corrected. You may
want to enclose a
copy of your report
with the items in
question circled.
Your letter may look
something like the
one
on page 4. Send
your letter by
certified mail,
“return receipt
requested,” so you
can document what
the consumer
reporting company
received. Keep
copies of your
dispute letter and
enclosures.
Consumer reporting
companies must
investigate the
items in
question—usually
within 30
days—unless they
consider your
dispute frivolous.
They also must
forward all the
relevant data you
provide about the
inaccuracy to the
organization that
provided the
information. After
the information
provider receives
notice of a dispute
from the consumer
reporting company,
it must investigate,
review the relevant
information, and
report the results
back to the consumer
reporting company.
If the information
provider finds the
disputed information
is inaccurate, it
must notify all
three nationwide
consumer reporting
companies so they
can correct the
information in your
file.
When the
investigation is
complete, the
consumer reporting
company must give
you the results in
writing and a free
copy of your report
if the dispute
results in a change.
This free report
does not count as
your annual free
report. If an item
is changed or
deleted, the
consumer reporting
company cannot put
the disputed
information back in
your file unless the
information provider
verifies that it is
accurate and
complete. The
consumer reporting
company also must
send you written
notice that includes
the name, address,
and phone number of
the information
provider.
If you ask, the
consumer reporting
company must send
notices of any
corrections to
anyone who received
your report in the
past six months. You
can have a corrected
copy of your report
sent to anyone who
received a copy
during the past two
years for employment
purposes.
If an investigation
doesn’t resolve your
dispute with the
consumer reporting
company, you can ask
that a statement of
the dispute be
included in your
file and in future
reports. You also
can ask the consumer
reporting company to
provide your
statement to anyone
who received a copy
of your report in
the recent past. You
can expect to pay a
fee for this
service.
Step Two
Tell the creditor or
other information
provider, in
writing, that you
dispute an item. Be
sure to include
copies (NOT
originals) of
documents that
support your
position. Many
providers specify an
address for
disputes. If the
provider reports the
item to a consumer
reporting company,
it must include a
notice of your
dispute. And if you
are correct—that is,
if the information
is found to be
inaccurate—the
information provider
may not report it
again.
Adding Accounts to
Your File
Your credit file may
not reflect all your
credit accounts.
Although most
national department
store and
all-purpose bank
credit card accounts
will be included in
your file, not all
creditors supply
information to
consumer reporting
companies: some
travel,
entertainment,
gasoline card
companies, local
retailers, and
credit unions are
among the creditors
that don’t.
If you’ve been told
that you were denied
credit because of an
“insufficient credit
file” or “no credit
file” and you have
accounts with
creditors that don’t
appear in your
credit file, ask the
consumer reporting
companies to add
this information to
future reports.
Although they are
not required to do
so, many consumer
reporting companies
will add verifiable
accounts for a fee.
However, understand
that if these
creditors do not
report to the
consumer reporting
company on a regular
basis, the added
items will not be
updated in your
file.
When negative
information in your
report is accurate,
only the passage of
time can assure its
removal. A consumer
reporting company
can report most
accurate negative
information for
seven years and
bankruptcy
information for 10
years. Information
about an unpaid
judgment against you
can be reported for
seven years or until
the statute of
limitations runs
out, whichever is
longer. There is no
time limit on
reporting:
information about
criminal
convictions;
information reported
in response to your
application for a
job that pays more
than $75,000 a year;
and information
reported because
you’ve applied for
more than $150,000
worth of credit or
life insurance.
There is a standard
method for
calculating the
seven-year reporting
period. Generally,
the period runs from
the date that the
event took place.
For more
information, see
Building a Better
Credit Report
at
ftc.gov/credit.
Sample Dispute
Letter
Date
Your Name
Your
Address,
City, State,
Zip Code
Complaint
Department
Name of
Company
Address
City, State,
Zip Code
Dear Sir or
Madam:
I am writing
to dispute
the
following
information
in my file.
I have
circled the
items I
dispute on
the attached
copy of the
report I
received.
This item
(identify
item(s)
disputed by
name of
source, such
as creditors
or tax
court, and
identify
type of
item, such
as credit
account,
judgment,
etc.) is
(inaccurate
or
incomplete)
because
(describe
what is
inaccurate
or
incomplete
and why). I
am
requesting
that the
item be
removed (or
request
another
specific
change) to
correct the
information.
Enclosed are
copies of
(use this
sentence if
applicable
and describe
any enclosed
documentation,
such as
payment
records,
court
documents)
supporting
my position.
Please
reinvestigate
this (these)
matter(s)
and (delete
or correct)
the disputed
item(s) as
soon as
possible.
Sincerely,
Your name
Enclosures:
(List what
you are
enclosing.) |