CREDIT REPORTS
Did you know that you are
entitled to a free copy of your credit report each year from each of the
three major credit bureaus?
You can order your free annual credit report online at http://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.
You also may be entitled to a free credit
report under the following circumstances:
1. You've been denied credit because of
information in your credit report and you request a copy within 60 days of
being denied credit.
2. You're unemployed and looking for work.
3. You receive public assistance.
4. You believe your file contains errors
due to fraud or you are (or you think you are) a victim of identity theft.
5. You've been denied employment (or another
adverse employment decision has been made) based in whole or in part on
information contained in a credit report.
6. Your report has been revised based upon an
investigation you requested.
Creditors report to each credit bureau
they are a member of. Not all creditors belong to all three major credit
bureaus. That is why you will sometimes see a debt reported, for
example, on one credit report but not the others. Order all three to be
sure you have a complete list.
Your credit report should show debts
such as credit cards, loans and installment debts, collection agency debts
and court judgments. Your report probably will not include your
personal debts and medical debts, unless these debts have been turned over
to a collection agency, because it is up to the person or entity you owe to
report that to the bureaus. Generally, individuals and medical
providers are not members of the credit bureaus and do not report your debt
to them.
CREDIT REPAIR
Whether a lender is evaluating your loan request or a card company is
considering whether to give you a credit card, you can count on an
evaluation of your credit report to influence its decision. Your credit
report is an electronic record of your credit activities. Every time you
apply for a credit card or other loan, it registers as an inquiry on your
credit report, even if you are turned down for the loan. More importantly, a
credit report is a record of how you use credit and how much of it you have
available. If you're late in making a monthly payment, that shows up on your
credit report.
Information remains on a credit report for years and
may hurt the chance of getting additional credit. While
exceptions sometimes exist, when
negative information in your report is accurate, and can be verified, only the passage of time
can assure its removal. Accurate negative information can generally stay on
your report for 7 years with certain exceptions. Bankruptcy information may
be reported for 10 years.
Sometimes, credit reports omit steps that borrowers
have taken to improve their credit, or contain errors. This is why
is important to review your credit reports at least once each year.
Sometimes information in credit reports may be out of date or inaccurate.
You are entitled to have such out dated or inaccurate information removed
from your report. Each creditor bureau has a "dispute
form" that is included with your credit report. You may write to the credit
bureau asking them to reinvestigate and confirm such information. Generally,
they must comply with your request within 30 days.
While it can often be frustrating to
deal with credit repair on your own, it may be the most cost effective way
to proceed. For more information and strategies for repairing your
credit click the link below.
