Order
Your Credit Report Now,
Dispute The Errors
By Robert K. Heady
Bank Rate Monitor
It
could happen to you. You just went to your mortgage closing and
you're hit by the damaging news that the loan will cost you more
because of a bad credit report. Or your kid is turned down for
a critical college loan at the last minute. Or you're rejected
for a job or an apartment lease all for the same reason.
Why? Because you failed
to get a copy of your credit report beforehand and see all the
negative maybe even erroneous items on it.
You're not alone. Millions
of consumers make the same mistake. And, even if they do get
copies of their report from the three major credit reporting
agencies (CRAs), they don't understand them. Worse still, they
could be victims of identity theft and never know it until the
report is in their hands.
I've outlined below
how to obtain your credit report from all three CRAs: Equifax,
Experian and TransUnion, via phone or the Internet. Don't just
get a report from one CRA because the three agencies gather credit
data from different creditors, so the info on each may not be
the same. Normally a report costs $9.50 or thereabouts per agency,
including your current credit score. But the report is free if
you've been refused credit or turned down for employment or insurance
in the past 60 days, or if you live in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts,
Maryland, New Jersey or Vermont.
Lately, a slew of Internet
marketers have been peddling "3-in-1" reports, which
merge your info from all three credit agencies in one place,
at a price of $34.95. But it may be confusing and there's no
cost advantage to you when you can buy all three separately for
less than 30 bucks, says Kristy Welsh, editor of www.creditnfocenter.com.
Visit her Web site or www.truecredit.com for a simple explanation
of how to read your credit report.
Once you receive your
report, follow thee simple steps, advises Consumer Credit Counseling
Services (800-388-2227).
1) If you see incorrect
or inaccurate information, such as a wrong address or a balance
for a paid-off bill, file a dispute with the Agency (CRA) that
issued the report. You can do this by phone, mail or online,
but certified return-receipt mail is best. (If the address on
a report isn't yours, it's a tip that your identity may have
been stolen.) You must provide your Social Security number, date
of birth, current address, name of disputed item, account number
and reason for the dispute.
2) Within 30 days,
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the CRA must investigate
the disputed item and correct or delete it. The CRA is obliged
to give you a written report of its investigation and tell you
if there's any change. You can read the full Act at www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm.
You can also report
disputed items directly to the creditor, such as a store. Once
you tell it your dispute, it can't continue to report the bad
stuff it said about you to the credit agency. But correct negative
information about you remains on your CRA report for seven years,
10 years in the event of a bankruptcy. By law, CRAs are required
to keep a record of credit inquiries on you for a minimum
of two years if related to employment, or six months if employment
isn't involved.
"It's important to make sure a credit agency investigates all disputes," says Credit Infocenter's Welsh. "If something is not correct, it should be killed off immediately. If you don't understand your credit report, review it with a loan officer at any bank."
"Of the more than 2 million reports ordered from us last year, only roughly 4 percent of consumers disputed any information," according to Virgil Gardaya, general manager of the Equifax's consumer-direct unit.
Here's how to order your credit report:
Equivax ($9 charge for report alone, $12.95 with credit score): 800-685-1111; Web address is www.equifax.com. Experian ($9 only if ordered online): 888-397-3742; Web is www.experian.com. TransUnion ($9 with free credit score): 800-888-4213; Web is www.transunion.com.
Editor's Note: Robert K. Heady is the founding publisher of Bank Rate Monitor. He invites reader mail on consumer money problems and solutions but cannot respond personally to all inquiries. Send e-mail to jrnl8888@aol.com, or write to P.O. Box 14875, North Palm Beach, FL 33408.
