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Your Free
Credit Reports
Q: Are there any
other situations where I might be eligible for a free report?
A:
Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free report if a company takes
adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit,
insurance, or employment, and you 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
- Trans Union
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.
Q: Should I order a report from each of the three nationwide consumer
reporting companies?
A: It’s
up to you. Because nationwide consumer reporting companies get their
information from different sources, the information in your report from
one company may not reflect all, or the same, information in your
reports from the other two companies. That’s not to say that the
information in any of your reports is necessarily inaccurate; it just
may be different.
Q: Should I order my reports from all
three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time?
A: You
may order one, two, or all three reports at the same time, or you may
stagger your requests. It’s your choice. Some financial advisors say
staggering your requests during a 12-month period may be a good way to
keep an eye on the accuracy and completeness of the information in your
reports.
Q: What if I find errors — either inaccuracies or incomplete
information — in my credit report?
A:
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 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.
- Tell the consumer reporting company,
in writing, what information you think is inaccurate.
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 written results 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 under the FACT Act.) 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.
- Tell the creditor or other information
provider in writing that you dispute an item. 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.
Q: What can I
do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won’t
correct the information I dispute?
A: 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.
If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice
of your dispute must be included any time the information provider
reports the item to a consumer reporting company.
Q: How long can a consumer reporting
company report negative information?
A: A
consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information
for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. 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.
Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be
reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out,
whichever is longer.
Q: Who else can get a copy of my credit
report?
A: The Fair Credit Reporting Act specifies who can access your credit
report. Creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use
the information in your report to evaluate your applications for credit,
insurance, employment, or renting a home are among those that have a
legal right to access your report.
Q: Can my employer get my credit
report?
A: Your employer can get a copy of your credit report only if you agree.
A consumer reporting company may not provide information about you to
your employer, or to a prospective employer, without your written
consent.
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