FREE ANNUAL CREDIT REPORTS
As of September 2005, the
entire nation has been phased into the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
(FACT Act, passed in 2003). This act is the governmental response to the
epidemic number of identity theft cases being reported throughout the United
States. The FACT ACT, simply put, is
giving the job of our personal security directly to each of us,
individually. You now have the right
and obligation to review your own credit reports annually and point out if you
are a victim of fraud. Your protection
is only as good as the effort you choose to exert. You will have no one to blame but yourself if your identity and
credit are not monitored properly.
Aside from the numerous security reasons, it is good practice to
annually review your credit records for financial reasons as well. While these free credit reports will not
provide you with your “credit score” they will give you nearly everything else
of importance (realize these companies use to charge for these reports so they
are only going to give you what the law requires unless you want to pay, of
course). Bottom line, many people are
coming to accept that in addition to their big tax project every year, we now
have another project too.
ADVICE BEFORE YOU VISIT THE SITE
- READ CAREFULLY. Please notice that it says “annual”. In other words, if you get your first free annual report today that you will have to wait another 12 months before you can get another free one. I have been recommending people do their credit report review in the fall, therefore leaving their tax projects for the spring. Regardless of when you do it, just realize you will basically be forever deciding the time of year you’ll be able to do it for free from your decision on this first one.
- PLAN AHEAD. You will only have 10 days to view your current report online from the day you start the process. The security measures on all the sites (except Experian) will prevent you from saving any information from your reports to any disks or hard drives. Be at an online computer with a printer, good ink levels, and paper handy. You will want to print your credit reports so be ready to do so. Also have a notepad handy as you will have to keep notes through the process such as logins, passwords, and various identification numbers that they will provide you with on the way.
- GET 3 DIFFERENT REPORTS. Be sure to get your full personal report from each of the national credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union). The three reports are different and a single report does not substitute for the others. Annualcreditreport.com will connect individually to each company’s site, one at a time. At each site you will need to pass their security questions and requirements (such as setting up a username and password, or responding to an email they will send you to confirm your identity). Write all this security information down as per which company it relates, just in case you want to get back to your free annual reports within the 10 days allotted. Once you pass the security part you’ll be able to get that particular companies full report on you. After you have your report printed, you can logout of that company’s site, and return to Annualcreditreport.com. They conveniently have a toolbar at the top that will directly take you back but if you loose the toolbar just type www.annualcreditreport.com in the same window you have logged out of the companies site. This will bring you back to the program where you left off.
- SECURE SITES AHEAD. Many do not feel comfortable with the transmission of personal information over the internet. Protection of our personal information and verifying the accurate representation thereof is the fundamental purpose for reviewing our own credit report. Many different companies collect consumer information on each of us but these particular three companies (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) are held as the most respected sources throughout our nation. Basically realize their only product is your information so security is one of the largest concerns, next to accuracy. The FACT ACT is the governmental response to our lack of comfort on the internet and our fears of identity theft. Obtaining your credit reports annual and directly seeing for yourself what business is being done in your name is a greater security advantage than the security prevention obtained through avoiding the internet. To further maximize your security, you can consider the additional security measures…
- Access these sites through your home computer or a computer you directly connect to the internet without a network in-between. School, work, library, and other public computers should be avoided because being owned by other people they legally can view anything you type or view, and in most cases they are. Plus using a computer that has more users, especially unknown users, is more likely to have potential security issues.
- Before and after visiting the site you may want to run some system maintenance. Suggestions include running any virus protection or adaware programs that you may have on your computer. Other measures may include clicking on the start button, selecting find, selecting files and folders…, under the “name & location” tab type in the “name” section: CLEANMGR.EXE and make sure the “look-in” pull down screen has the (C:) selected. Finish by pressing the Find Now button and when the program appears in the lower portion of the screen just double click on it. Click OK to scan the entire C: and check all boxes to delete all files (except the Non-critical files, leave that box unchecked). These steps can be repeated after the process too. This should effectively ensure that your computer is clean prior to this process and remains that way after.
- Once you have printed all of your reports, closed all your windows, and gotten off-line you may want to clear the cache files on the computer you used to access your reports. You can simply do this by clicking on the start button, selecting setting, selecting control panel, selecting internet options, under the “general” tab select Delete Cookies (then click OK), then select Delete Files (then check the delete off line content box and click OK), then select Clear History (then click YES), finally press the OK button at the bottom and close the control panel window. You should be squeaky clean.
Understand
that credit bureaus are not responsible for what is on your report. Their only
function is to provide the information to a creditor that is provided to them. It
is your responsibility to see that your report is accurate. It has been
estimated that at least 25% of all credit reports contain inaccurate
information that can cause credit problems.
GENERAL CREDIT REPORT ADVICE
HOW
TO READ THE CREDIT REPORTS
Once you have copies of
your credit reports, check all the personal information (name, address, etc.)
to make sure it is accurate. Note any changes that need to be made. Understand
that recent address changes or changes in employer may result in being turned down
for credit, so every little item on your credit report is important. Credit
bureaus use codes, and the following is a sample of these codes and what they
mean:
Who is Responsible for the Account
J =
Joint Account
I =
Individual
T =
Terminated
M = Maker(signer)
C =
Co-Maker
U =
Undesignated
A =
Authorized User
B = On
behalf of another
S =
Shared
Type of Account:
O =
Open account (30 or 90 days)
R =
Revolving or option account (open-end)
I =
Installment Account (fixed number of payments)
Current Method of Payment
O =
Approved, but too new to rate
1 =
Pays account as agreed
2 =
Pays (or paid) after 30 days of due date but before 60 days, not more than one
payment due at any given time.
3 =
Pays in more than 60 days, but less than 90, or two payments past due.
4 =
Pays in more than 90 days, less than 120, three payments past due
5 =
Pays in more than 120 days.
7 =
Making payments under wage-earner plan or similar arrangement.
8 =
Repossession
9 = Bad
debt, placed for collection; written off
These symbols are often
combined, such as R2, which means it is a revolving account and has been at
least one payment late less than 30 days. Often each payment is recorded,
showing if it was late, how late, by how much. Your objective, then, is to get
all R1's or I1's. It is not unusual for accounts to appear that you never had.
So check your credit report thoroughly and investigate everything. As you may notice the company you are
familiar with my appear under a different name on your report so you may need
to reference the balance, account number, or other information to properly
determine the source of each record on your report.
HOW
TO HANDLE ANY DEROGATORY ITEMS
Now that you know what
is on your report, the next step is to list the names and account numbers of
every derogatory item on your report, even if it is valid and true. Regardless of the nature of the derogatory
item, I strongly advise you to dispute each one. Once the particular bureau receives your dispute they are
required by law to contact the creditor who listed each contested item and ask
for substantiation. If the information is not true, the creditor will not be
able to substantiate. The real beauty of this, however, is that many creditors
will not bother to respond. Either they no longer have the record handy, or
they are busy, or the letter got lost in some pile, or maybe they really just
don't care. Whatever their reasons, if they do not provide documentation to the
bureau within a reasonable time (usually 30 days) the credit bureau is required
by law to remove the item from your report.
If you are filing your
dispute within 10 days of your initial review of your free annual credit report
you may file your dispute online. You
may go to the particular company website (Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union)
and obtain access to your report again by providing the security information
your have established. From your report
you will see links on how to file a dispute online. You will find information regarding filing online disputes are
different between each of the companies’ websites, but they are seemingly
forward and easy to use. Other
suggested means of filing your dispute would be by registered mail. I only advise calling in disputes if they
are very few in number and relatively insignificant.
In your dispute state
that you have reviewed your profile and found certain items you believe to be
in error. Request they investigate these items, as they are highly injurious to
you. (Use the words HIGHLY INJURIOUS.)
If you are writing your disputes in a letter, list discrepancies in the
personal information first, and provide the correct information, then list the
derogatory accounts. At the end of the letter state that these items do not
agree with your records and you wish to have them removed immediately if not
substantiated. Also state you want an updated copy of your report issued to you
showing any changes made.
Note: at the beginning
of the letter be sure to include all the personal information you provided when
you requested your credit report. When
you mail the letter be sure to send it registered mail. Always register any
mail to any credit bureau or creditor, and always keep a copy of your
correspondence to them for your own records.
If you do not receive an updated copy of your record within 45 days,
send a registered letter requesting the update, stating the date you had
disputed some items. Again be sure to include all personal information, as this
is how they locate your report. When you have the update check it against the
original and note the differences. You should find that many, if not all
derogatory items have been removed.
If any remain, do not
despair - you have just begun. To remove any items that are still plaguing you,
your next step should be a repeat of the prior one. Send another dispute letter
stating you still believe these items are in error and to please investigate
again. This time when the bureau contacts the creditor, the creditor may not
respond this second time. Why not? Perhaps he thinks it is a duplicate request
sent by mistake. Or perhaps he will just say to heck with it - he responded
once and simply will not waste any more of his time. Or maybe the letter gets
lost in the Incoming pile, or he is busy, or... Whatever the reason, he may not
send documentation a second time. If not, the item is removed.
Again request an updated
copy showing any changes. When it arrives, check it thoroughly. If any bad
items still remain, you have other options at your disposal, including:
1. Offer the creditor a cash settlement provided he
removes the item from your report, or has it marked "settled". Your
first cash offer should be 50-60% of the amount claimed. Even if you settle at
80% you are still ahead of the game, and the creditor at least gets most of his
money. All he loses, really, is the profit margin on the item you bought on
credit.
2. Offer to pay the amount in full, in monthly payments you can afford. The written agreement should include that, after 3 on-time payments, the creditor will rewrite your account and mark the old account "settled" on your report. Then, when you make the payments on time it shows up on your report as a GOOD reference. If necessary, and if you can afford it, offer to pay the debt in full, provided the creditor immediately notifies the reporting agency that the account has been paid in full.
3. If you cannot get the creditor to work with you, you still have a powerful weapon left. This is where keeping copies of registered letters will pay off. You have a legal right to enter a 100 word statement showing proof that you made attempts to settle this account but the creditor refused. If the debt truly is not owed by you, the statement can be used to prove you do not owe this account. The statement is attached to your report and issued to every creditor who checks your credit. You may also request that a copy be sent to every creditor your report was sent to in the last 90 days. Often, your honest account, accompanied by documentation, will convince creditors that you are a good risk.
HOW
TO EFFECTIVELY BUILD GOOD CREDIT IN 90 DAYS
You may have noticed
that some credit accounts you have had in the last few years did not show up on
your report, even though you paid them off on time. This is because some
creditors do not bother to report (especially smaller businesses) because they
have to be a member of the bureau and/or pay a filing fee. If you can document
such accounts and the payment history you can have the credit bureau add them
to your profile, giving you "better credit". You have a right to have
all credit information appear in your record.
Now to create a small
miracle - getting three banks to state that your credit is "AAA" and
place this on your credit report. Make sure you choose three banks that have
PASSBOOK accounts. Go to bank #1 and ask for the smallest personal loan they
allow - usually $1000. Tell the loan officer you do not want the money - you
are simply trying to establish credit. You would like the money placed in a
passbook account in their bank. They hold the passbook so the account is
collateral for the loan. Your loan is 100% secured so there should be no
problem. Do the same thing at bank #2 and #3. You now have three loans and
three passbook accounts. Just make sure you try to get all three loans on the
same day so that your loan applications can honestly say you do not have any
other loan obligations.
In three weeks, make the
first payment on each loan. Three weeks later make the second payment on each.
At this time your payments have freed up a proportionate amount of your
passbook accounts which you can now withdraw. In three weeks use this money to
pay the third payment on each of the three loans. Withdraw the amount freed up
by these payments and in three more weeks make payment 4. Continue doing this
until the loans are paid in full.
In about 90 days from
the origination date of your loans you will have made four payments on all
loans, all payments were made early and you are even one payment ahead on each.
Ask your banks to post your payment history on your credit report if they have
not already done so. You will then have three banks listed on your report, all
showing perfect credit with them. These references alone should be enough to
get you nearly any credit card you want. Even if you still have “bad” items on
your report from the past, these new accounts will help to bury them, and shout
to creditors that you have “turned over a new leaf”.
You now have excellent
credit. Use it wisely, and guard it with your life! There you have it - credit repair made easy.
GENERAL CREDIT REPORT INFORMATION
To Request your free credit report through the Annual
Credit Report Request Service
Please click here to order
your free annual credit report by secure website, phone or mail
To contact the Annual Credit Report Request Service, to provide a
suggestion, or to file a complaint about this service
Please write to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
PO Box 105283
Atlanta, GA 30348-5283
To find out more about credit reports, your rights as a consumer,
the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the FACT Act
Please visit, www.ftc.gov/credit
To find out
information on disputing or correcting information in your credit file
Please contact the nationwide consumer credit reporting company
that provided the credit report
Equifax - www.equifax.com
Experian - www.experian.com
TransUnion - www.transunion.com
To find out
more about credit repair
Please visit the Federal Trade Commission Credit
Repair information at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/repair.htm
To find out
more about identity theft
Please visit the Federal Trade Commission
Identity Theft Center at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
To find out more about excluding your name from nationwide
consumer credit reporting company lists for unsolicited credit and insurance
offers
You may request that consumer credit reporting companies exclude
your name from lists for pre-approved, unsolicited credit and insurance offers.
To find out more, please call 1–888–5OPTOUT (1–888–567–8688).
To request your
credit report by telephone
Call toll free: 1–877–322–8228
Hearing impaired consumers can access our TDD service at 1–877–730–4104
The details of this page have been
collected over the years of studying personal credit reports as well as notes
taken while going through the new system.
Please feel free to email info@pristinesvc.com
if you have any additional information, questions, or recommendations that
might better help all the eyes who will pass this page. Not all situations are the same and it
should be understood that the above advice is merely meant to cover most normal
situations. Exceptions to the norm
would include situations with past bankruptcies and various other situations.