|
|
|
|
Understanding Credit Reports:
A credit report is a factual record of your credit payment history
maintained by a credit bureau. It's provided to companies and
individuals by credit bureaus for purposes permitted by law, usually to
grant you credit.
More than 205 million people in the United States have a credit card,
car loan, mortgage, or student loan. Almost every one of them has a
credit file. The information in your credit file is obtained directly
from the companies you have credit with, as well as from government
agencies such as the legal court systems. There are three major credit
bureaus in the United States: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Even
though you are in good financial shape, there is a possibility of
identity theft or just a simple error in credit reporting that might
damage your credit file. The best way to track changes in your credit
profile is to purchase a credit monitoring service. Usually the credit
monitoring service includes a credit report and updates for 30 days.
Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act:
You have the right to receive a copy of your credit report. The copy of
your report must contain all of the information in your file at the time
of your request.
You have the right to know the name of anyone who received your credit
report in the last year for most purposes, or in the last two years for
employment purposes. Any company that denies your application for credit
must supply the name and address of the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA)
they contacted, provided the denial was based on information given by
the CRA.
You have the right to a free copy of your credit report when your
application for credit is denied because of information supplied by the
CRA. Your request must be made within 60 days of receiving your denial
notice.
If you contest the completeness or accuracy of information in your
report, you should file a dispute with the CRA and with the company that
furnished the information to the CRA. Both the CRA and the furnisher of
information are legally obligated to investigate your dispute. You have
a right to add a summary explanation to your credit report if your
dispute is not resolved to your satisfaction.
Credit Reporting Agencies:
Trans Union
www.transunion.com
Experian
www.experian.com
Equifax
www.equifax.com
|
|
|
Picture Gallery
