Your Access to Free Credit Reports
We're at the start of a new year, and it's a
good time to make a game plan to protect you and your family from
identity theft. You can start by taking advantage of your
right to a free credit report.
In order to have your ID stolen, all it takes is
someone opening up an account in your name, then racking up credit
that you don't even know you owe.
Doesn't sound like something that would happen
to you? Our identity theft expert says it can be done quite
easily.
"Amazingly, it's pretty low tech stuff like your
mailbox and your trash, coworkers seeing forms while you fill out
applications...people looking over your shoulder," explained Danny
Lents.
He offers this advice: You order one
report between now and March, then have your spouse order one
between April and June. Do that again in the latter half of
the year.
Be careful about which sight you pick to order
your free credit report, as some sound free, especially by their
name, but end up costing you
The Fair Credit Reporting
Act (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 FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in
the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency,
enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.
A credit report includes information on where
you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued,
arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide 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.
Here are the details about your rights under the
FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which
established the free
annual credit report program.
Q: How do I order my free report?
A:
The three nationwide consumer
reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free
telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order
your free annual report.
To order, visit
annualcreditreport.com,
call 1-877-322-8228, 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. The
form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from
ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit.
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies
individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only
through
annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, 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 your report from each of the companies one at a time.
The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each
of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.
A Warning About “Imposter” Websites
Only one website is authorized to fill orders
for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law –
annualcreditreport.com.
Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free
credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the
legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases,
the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some
sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to
one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel
during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the
company start charging fees to your credit card.
Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free
report” in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell
annualcreditreport.com
in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site.
Some of these “imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to
sell you something or collect your personal information.
annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide
consumer reporting companies will not send you an email asking for
your personal information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or
get a phone call from someone claiming to be from
annualcreditreport.com
or any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not
reply or click on any link in the message. It’s probably a scam.
Forward any such email to the FTC at
spam@uce.gov.
Q: What information do I need to provide to get
my free report?
A:
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.
Q: Why do I want a copy of my credit report?
A:
Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get
a loan – and how much you will have to pay to borrow money. You want
a copy of your credit report 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.
-
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.
Q: How long does it take to get my report after
I order it?
A:
If you request your report online at annualcreditreport.com, you
should be able to access it immediately. If you order your report by
calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228, your report will be processed and
mailed to you within 15 days. If you order your report by mail using
the Annual Credit Report Request Form, your request will be
processed and mailed to you within 15 days of receipt.
Whether you order your report online, by phone,
or by mail, it may take longer to receive your report if the
nationwide consumer reporting company needs more information to
verify your identity.
There also may be times when the nationwide
consumer reporting companies receive a high volume of requests for
credit reports. If that happens, you may be asked to re-submit your
request. Or, you may be told that your report will be mailed to you
sometime after 15 days from your request. If either of these events
occurs, the nationwide consumer reporting companies will let you
know.
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:
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 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 full
advantage of 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: Can anyone else can get a copy of my credit
report?
A:
The FCRA 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.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent
fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the
marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop,
and avoid them. To file a
complaint or to get
free information on
consumer issues, visit ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY:
1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity
theft, and other fraud-related complaints into
Consumer
Sentinel, a secure online database available to hundreds of
civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad
|
