Fact Act Explained
Free credit reports are now available for every region of the U.S.As of September 1, 2005, everyone in the U.S. has access to free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com.
 |
How do I order my free report? |
 |
|
 |
We suggest you order your
credit report via phone (877–322–8228). It takes
about 5 minutes while you talk to the nice automated phone lady.
You can also order your free annual credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The report will take about 15 days to arrive. |
|
Should I order one report or all three? (Reports from Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian are available) |
|
|
|
We suggest that you use
this service as a simple (and free) credit
monitoring service. In other words, order one report now,
order another report in 4 months, etc. For example: |
The following questions and answers are provided by the Federal
Trade Commision.
A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to
provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request,
once every 12 months.
A credit report contains 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.
|
How do I know when I'm eligible to get a free report? |
|
|
|
Free reports will be
phased in during a nine-month period, rolling from the West
Coast to the East beginning December 1, 2004. Beginning September
1, 2005, free reports will be accessible to all Americans, regardless
of where they live.
Consumers in the Western states
- Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming
- can order their free reports beginning December 1, 2004. |
|
How do I order my free report? |
|
|
|
You can order your free annual credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com, by calling 877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. |
|
What information do I have to provide to get my free report? |
|
|
|
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. www.annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized source for your free annual credit report from the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. www.annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer reporting companies will not send you an email asking for your personal information. If you get an email or see a pop-up ad claiming it's from www.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 email that claims to be from www.annualcreditreport.com or any of three consumer reporting companies to the FTC's database of deceptive spam at spam@uce.gov. www.annualcreditreport.com or any of three consumer reporting companies also will not call you to ask for your personal information. |
|
Why would I want to get a copy of my credit report? |
|
|
|
You may want to review your credit report:
|
|
How long does it take to get my report after I order it? |
|
|
|
If
you request your report online at www.annualcreditreport.com,
you should be able to access it immediately. If you order your report by calling toll-free 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 may be times when the nationwide consumer reporting companies receive an extraordinary 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. |
|
Are there any other situations where I might be eligible for a free report? |
|
|
|
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 for another copy of
your report within a 12-month period. To buy a copy of your report, contact:
|
|
Should I order a report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies? |
|
|
|
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. |
|
Should I order my reports from all three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time? |
|
|
|
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. |
|
What if I find errors - either inaccuracies or incomplete information - in my credit report? |
|
|
|
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.
|
|
What can I do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won't correct the information I dispute? |
|
|
|
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. |
|
How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information? |
|
|
|
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. |
|
Who else can get a copy of my credit report? |
|
|
|
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. |
|
Can my employer get my credit report? |
|
|
|
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. |
