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
Name of
Company 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,
Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.) |