When you apply for credit or financing, your credit report will be pulled electronically from any three major consumer reporting agencies. These are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. They are responsible for maintaining correct and up to date credit information for people around the globe. Obviously they are maintaining billions of records and are therefore not very effective in finding errors to individual reports.
This is the very reason why we as consumers are responsible for checking our own credit reports. Make sure that you get a copy of your credit report at least once per year. You are entitled to get one free copy per year. If you have been denied credit in the past 60 days you are also entitled to receive a free credit report. Below is a list of each credit bureau.
- Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241; (800) 685-1111.
- Experian(formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013; (888) EXPERIAN (397-3742).
- Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022; (800) 916-8800.
You can also use the internet to get your credit report. Many companies will give you instant access to your report online and will offer it free if you try their credit monitoring service for a limited time. These are great services to keep track of your credit and stop identity theft in its tracks. When someone applies for credit in your name and SSN,these services will notify you via email. If you did not request this credit then you just log into your account and alert the credit bureaus of potential fraud.
The information on your credit report is used to evaluate you when you apply for credit,insurance, employment or other purposes allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It is crucial that you review your credit for accuracy at least once per year.
When you monitor your report you will save yourself future problems when you apply for new credit or if you are considering the purchase of a new home. When you know what is on your report you can clear up any inaccuracies before you even apply for new credit. In doing so, you will avoid any issues before they arise.
When you find inaccurate information do the following:
- Verify discrepancies as soon as possible. The credit bureau says that a reasonable amount of time is usually 30 days.
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Dispute the information. You can either do it one at a time or all at once.
- Write a dispute letter. Don’t just copy a form. They will take you more seriously if you write it yourself rather than doing what thousands of others have done before.
The credit bureau is required to investigate claims and if they cannot confirm within a reasonable amount of time then the credit record must be taken off your credit file. They also must provide you with a free copy of your credit report that was fixed.
Make sure your dispute goes to all three credit bureau companies. If by chance they decide that the information must stay on your report, then you can add a letter of explanation to your report so that future lenders are aware.
