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You may get a copy of your credit report as often as you want. You may be able to get your credit report for free. An 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, once every 12 months. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to obtain copies of credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion; do not obtain copies from Freecreditreport.com because this website will automatically enroll you in a credit monitoring service that you may not need. 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.
If You've Been Denied Credit
If you've been denied credit, insurance, or employment because of information supplied by a CRA, the FCRA says that the company you applied to must give you the CRA's name, address, and telephone number. If you contact the agency for a copy of your report within 60 days of receiving a denial notice, the report is free. In addition, you're entitled to one free copy of your report per year if you can prove that you're in any of the following situations:
- you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days
- you're on welfare
- your report is inaccurate because of fraud
Correcting Errors on Your Credit Report
Under the FCRA, both the CRA and the organization that provided
the information to the CRA, such as a bank or credit card company,
have responsibilities for correcting inaccurate or incomplete
information in your report. To protect all of your rights under
the law, contact the CRA
and the company that made the mistake.
Sample Credit Rating Dispute Letter
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Date
Your Name
Your Address<>Your City, State, Zip Code
Your Telephone Number
Complaint Department
Name of Credit Reporting Agency
Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing to dispute the following information in my file.
The items I dispute are also circled on the attached copy of the report I received.
(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.)
This item is (inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what
is inaccurate or incomplete and why). I am requesting that the item be deleted
(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) |
Credit-Monitoring Services
Credit-monitoring services automatically monitor your credit file and notify you of significant changes, such as late payments, changes to your address, or new accounts or loans opened in your name. The service is designed to alert you so you can exercise your right under federal law to dispute possible inaccurate information, Credit-monitoring services can be expensive and unnecessary for most consumers. Check your credit report once a year and you can save the expense.
Adding Accounts to Your File
Your credit file may not reflect all of your credit accounts. Although most national department store and bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information to CRAs, including some travel, entertainment, and gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions.
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 CRA to add this information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, many CRAs will add verifiable accounts for a fee. You should, however, understand that if these creditors do not report to the CRA on a regular basis, these added items will never be updated.
Getting Smart About Credit
Some people learn best through workbooks, reading and going through educational programs. There are a number of ways you can learn about managing your money and keeping good credit. Check out local community colleges for educational program that give you tools to better manage your money and give you information to make better money choices. Basic budgeting and an understanding of credit are important first steps.
The greatest educational curriculum is of no use unless you learn from it. In any case, the program you choose should include assessments along the way. While this may feel like a test, it is important that you know whether you have understood the material. You can't put into practice what you haven't fully understood.
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