Free Instant Credit Report
If you have reason to believe that there is information in your credit report that is not yours, or is erroneously reported, you must report this to the credit reporting agency where you got your report.
Here is what you will have to do:
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get an instant copy of your credit report for FREE
, make a photocopy of it and keep the original report in a separate file. On the photocopy of your credit report, mark all the errors that you see.
- Write a letter to the credit report agencies informing them of the errors, explaining why you are disputing the information, and asking them to correct or remove the errors.
Alternatively, you may use a dispute form.
- Attach the documentation supporting your claim to the letter and the copy of your credit report. If you don’t have it, contact the creditor that submitted the information and
get the paperwork from them.
- Send all these documents to the credit reporting agency through certified mail with a return receipt.
- Keep a copy of everything for your files. Also, keep on record any correspondence or documents that you received or will receive from the credit report company.
- If you reported the error by telephone, take notes and ask for the person’s name. Note down the date and time of your call.
What Are My Rights Regarding Errors In My Credit Report?
Under Section 1681 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you have the right to dispute any incomplete or incorrect information in your credit report. The law says that:
- You have the right to challenge the accuracy of your credit report at any time.
- The credit agency is required to investigate whatever you dispute. They should do it free of charge.
- The investigation must be done within 30 days after receiving your notice of dispute.
- If the agency finds any error in your report, it must delete that erroneous information from your credit report.
- If the credit reporting agency cannot confirm the information that you have challenged within a reasonable time, it must delete that information from your credit report.
- If a creditor verifies that the information you disputed is in fact true, that negative information will remain in your credit. However, you can submit a statement of dispute
that will be placed in your record and attached to every copy of your credit report that they will send out.
What Happens When I Report an Error In My Instant Online Credit Report?
Consumer reporting agencies must respond to your dispute within 30 days. They should forward your letter and documentation to the company that provided the information.
The company will then review the information and report its findings to the credit agency. If it finds that the information is indeed inaccurate,
it must notify all three major credit reporting agencies so that they can correct the information.
After the investigation, the credit reporting agency should inform you of the results in writing and provide you in instant with a new free online credit report.
This report is different from your annual credit report. Know that you can get one credit report annually for free.
Upon request, the credit agency will send a notice of the corrections to all parties that received your report within the last six months. If your credit report was sent to
companies in the last two years for employment purposes, you can also request that they be sent a copy of your corrected report.
If the information provider or creditor refuses to correct the information and the investigation doesn’t resolve what you disputed, you can ask that a statement
about the dispute be placed in your file and in your future credit reports. For a fee, you can ask the credit report agency can send that statement of dispute to anybody
who received a free or paid copy of your credit report recently.
Why Should I Inspect My Credit Report?
Reviewing your credit report annually will allow you to see in instant if information in your credit report has been reported wrongly, or if there is any information that is over seven
or ten years old and should not appear in your credit report.
Wrong or inaccurate information in your credit report can bring down your credit score, and affect your chances of being able to get additional credit.
If you have a fair or low credit fico score and are in the process of applying for a mortgage, you want to make sure that your credit report and credit score will pass the lender’s instant
requirements. Even if you have a good credit score, inspecting your credit report is necessary to ensure that you are not getting charged for bills that are not yours, and that all
the information in your report is accurate. After all it is free to check your credit report. why not do it?
Another reason for inspecting your credit is to check if you have been a victim of identity theft. Stories abound about people’s credit cards being used for online transactions
by other people who were not authorized to do so, and of charges to credit cards amounting to thousands of dollars worth. A businessman received a call from his credit card company
informing him that his credit card had been charged for purchases totaling over ten thousand dollars. The investigation traced the purchases to the cashier of a restaurant he had
patronized in another state while on a business trip. The cashier had used his credit card information to go on a shopping spree online.
Studies by the Fair Isaac Corporation show that identity theft is done through these methods:
- Lost or stolen wallet, checks, and credit cards – 30%
- By a friend or relative – 15%
- By a corrupt employee – 15%
- Other methods – 9.7%
- Through stolen mail or fraudulent change of address – 8%
- As part of a transaction – 7%
- Stolen from companies that hold your data – 6%
- Through spyware, viruses, and hackers – 5%
- Through fake emails, known as phishing – 3%
- Information picked up from the garbage – 1%
- Through online transactions – 0.3%
Your Privacy Rights Under The Law
When you deal with a company such as a credit card company or a lender, you are giving those companies access to your free instant credit report. The government has taken steps to protect
your information by requiring financial institutions to give you a privacy notice.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also called the Financial Privacy Rule, mandates that financial institutions should notify you of their practices regarding information collecting
and sharing. Financial institutions and other companies that receive your personal and financial information from other financial institutions are also restricted in their use of your
information.
The Financial Privacy Rules require that financial institutions and credit comapnies protect the information they collect about individuals like you. Financial institutions are companies that
offer financial or credit services or products to individuals, such as your mortgage lenders, financial or investment advisers, loan brokers, tax preparers, debt collectors, credit companies (which might provide credit report)
and companies that provide real estate settlement services.
If you are classified as a “customer” – a person who has a long-term relationship with the company – the credit or financial institution is required to automatically send
you a privacy notice every year for as long as you have a customer relationship. If you are a “consumer,” meaning a person who obtains a financial product or service for personal,
household, or family reasons, financial institutions should send you a privacy notice if and when they share your information with companies they are not affiliated with.
One example of a “consumer” transaction is if you encash your check with a check-cashing service but do not have a continuing relationship with that company.
Whether you are classified as a customer or a consumer, whether you are reviewing your credit report regulary or not, privacy notices must be sent to you in writing, but that also
depends on the type of business the institution does. For instance, an online lender or a creditor– instead of sending privacy notices by mail – may post a notice on its website for your
instant accessand if you apply for a loan, you will be required to acknowledge online that you have read and understood the privacy notice.
The law requires that the privacy notice should state clearly, accurately and conspicuously what kind of information the company collects about you, who it shares your information
with, and how it protects the information in your credit report.
You have the right to “opt out” or say no to having your information shared with third parties, and the privacy notice should explain how you can reasonably convey your
decision. The company may provide a toll free number that you can call, or provide you with a detachable form with a pre-printed address that you can mail back to them.
They cannot require you to write a letter as the only means to letting them know that you want to opt out.
The privacy notice should also explain that if you are a consumer, you have the right to refuse to have your information shared with the company’s affiliates.
The Financial Privacy Rule cites certain situations where you cannot opt out, such as:
- If the financial institution has to share your credit and personal information with outside companies in the form of report or anything for the purpose of data processing or servicing,
- If the sharing of your information is required by law, and
- If the institution has to share your personal or credit information with outside companies that market their products or services.
