|
At Home Mommy : Resources For Stay at Home and Work at Home Mommies
What the world says about
textdecoration and
and also
color
This file
uploaded by
FREE Go FTP
Client
|
|
Fixing Errors On A Credit Report:
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.
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.
If the negative information is accurate, it can haunt your credit
report for seven years. These are the exceptions:
- Bankruptcies can remain for 10 years.
- Criminal conviction information can remain
indefinitely
- Lawsuits and unpaid judgments can remain for
seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out
(whichever is longer).
- Credit information reported because of an
application for credit or life insurance that is over $150,000 can
remain indefinitely.
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.)
Information provided by
Federal Trade Commission
Back to Money Savers
l
Back to Mom's Tips
|
|
At Home Mommy
|
topsite.jpg)
![](http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=140780&u=302625&m=15991&urllink=&afftrack="><img src="http://www.sharesale.com/image/RSK-125x125-s.gif")
