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• How Private Is My Credit Report? :: credit report

  Apercu : Credit reports are a gold mine of information about consumers. Security number, date of birth, current and previous addresses, telephone number (including unlisted numbers), credit payment status, employment, even legal information. Obtain a copy of your credit report. What is in my credit report? Your credit report is actually a credit history. It is created by data about you from many different sources. A if you overdraw your account or do not make credit card, auto loan, or mortgage payments on time. Your credit report may also contain information about delinquent child support payments. Security number, year and month of birth, and employment information. Information in your report also includes matters of public record such as civil judgments, tax liens and bankruptcies. You have the right to know who has inquired about your credit file or has requested your report over the last six months. Reports you receive must also include the identity of all such inquiries. Inquiries related to pre-approved offers, as well as your own inquiries, are not available to credit grantors. However, they are included in credit reports that you order for yourself. As to report records of convictions of crime. As to report criminal convictions on credit reports. Such information may, however, be reported in connection with an employer background check, an application for automobile insurance, or an application to rent a house or apartment. Can a credit reporting agency deny my application for credit? A compiles reports of what your file contains and passes that along to the potential credit grantor. Inquiries made in connection with your applications for credit may also be a factor in your score. If, for example, you have applied for several credit cards or loans in a short period of time, this may result in a lower score. Inquiries made in connection with pre-approved credit offers or those you make yourself do not result in a reduced score. How do credit scores affect my application? The practice of credit scoring is widespread and growing. Until recent years, consumers have seldom gained access to their credit score and have not been able to learn the factors that went into the scoring process. Since then, the credit industry voluntarily loosened its grip on the credit score. A give you new rights to know your credit score as well as an explanation of the factors that determined the score. Is there anything that cannot be in my credit report? How long can information be reported? Medical information (unless you give your consent). Chapter 11) that is more than 10 years old. Debts (including delinquent child support payments) that are more than seven years old. California residents, records of arrest, information, or misdemeanor complaints must be removed after seven years. But under federal law, records of criminal convictions may remain on a credit report indefinitely. Age, marital status, or race (if the request is from a current or prospective employer). Certain kinds of information may remain on your report indefinitely. If, for example, you are applying for credit, insurance or employment above the dollar limits noted below, information can be reported beyond the usual seven- to 10-year deadlines. A credit transaction involving, or which may be expected to involve, an amount of $150,000 or more. Information about a job with a salary of more than $75,000. An application for credit or life insurance for more than $150,000. Tax liens that are not paid. Who has access to my report? Those considering granting you credit. Employers and potential employers (but only with your consent). Companies with which you have a credit account for account monitoring purposes. Those considering your application for a government license or benefit if the agency is required to consider your financial status. A state or local child support enforcement agency. Any government agency (limited usually to your name, address, former addresses, current and former employers). Generally, only an employer or prospective employer needs your written consent to obtain a report. Vermont where any user needs your oral or written consent. In practice, most potential creditors ask for your permission to review your report. Your permission is not required when inquiries are made in connection with a pre-approved credit offer. Your right of access is mandated by federal and state laws. We strongly recommend that you review your credit reports on a regular basis in order to check for accuracy, especially in this age of rampant identity theft. Credit reports are used to make a number of critical decisions that go far beyond your ability to obtain credit cards and loans. These include renting an apartment, seeking employment, and obtaining insurance. You will want to make sure that your credit reports are accurate and up to date. In the past, consumers in most states were required to pay a fee to obtain copies of their credit reports. Now access is free of charge. To order your free reports, you can call the official toll-free number, (877) 322-8228. Or you can print out the form and mail your request. Forum has released a study that indicates that privacy-conscious consumers may be better served by ordering their credit reports by phone or mail rather than online. You are not required to order all three credit reports at the same time. If you wish, you can stagger your free reports over the course of a year by ordering one report every four months. This way, you are monitoring your credit reports on an ongoing basis. But if you are an identity theft victim or are shopping for credit, it is best to order all three at one time. There are certain times when you are entitled to a free copy for special circumstances. The new rule that gives you free access once a year does not affect your ability to get a free report in the situations listed below. Further, the laws in seven states give residents the ability to obtain credit reports free of charge. As to sell their products. Some companies sell a merged version of all three reports. They also provide credit monitoring services that alert you to activity on your report, such as any new credit accounts, the placement of negative information, inquiries from creditors, and so on. Ask yourself if you really need to spend money to obtain a copy of your credit report, now that free reports are available nationwide from the major credit bureaus. Do your homework before signing on the dotted line. The vast majority of such services are ineffective, even illegal. Additional information on credit repair services is provided in the next section. The best way to determine if you have negative information in your credit report is to order a copy and check it carefully. This should be done at least once a year. Because the crime of identity theft is on the rise, we recommend that you check at least one of your credit reports every four months. In addition to taking advantage of your free annual credit report, you should also check your credit report when you know it is going to be used to make important decisions, such as applying for an automobile or home loan, renting an apartment, or applying for a job. Reports should be ordered at least one to two months before you apply for credit or intend to rent. At these crucial times, you do not want to be surprised to find that your report contains negative information, especially if that information is inaccurate. For example, if you close an account voluntarily, your creditor must report this fact in order to distinguish it from an account that is closed for nonpayment. There is no denying that errors can and do appear in credit reports. There are two main reasons errors may appear on your credit report. One is when you have been mistaken for another person with a similar name and their information ends up in your file. The other more serious cause of error is fraud. Someone may have intentionally gained access to your personal information and obtained credit in your name. Instances of identity theft are increasing. Recent surveys have found there are 9-10 million victims of identity fraud each year. Both state and federal laws provide you with the right to have errors corrected. Code section 1785 et seq. National credit bureaus must have a toll-free number so you can contact them with your questions. Also, credit reports must provide an address to request an investigation of inaccurate information. California law allow 30 business days for an investigation. The bureau must consider all the relevant evidence you give it, and errors must be corrected. A cannot verify negative information, it must be deleted from your file. You are entitled to receive a free copy of your corrected report. You may ask the credit bureau to send a corrected report to anyone who has requested your file in the past six months, as well as to anyone who has requested it in the last two years in relation to employment. As, be sure to make copies of all letters, and mail them certified return receipt requested. The credit bureau must include the explanation in your file although the negative information will not be removed. Some consumers who have had errors corrected find the incorrect information reappears in their files at a later date. California laws require credit bureaus to notify the consumer within five days of reinserting information. Negative information cannot be reinserted into your file unless the credit bureau takes the added step of having the source of the information certify that it is complete and accurate. Credit bureaus must provide the subject of the report with a toll-free number to dispute the reinsertion and the opportunity to include a dispute statement. Nonetheless, even if you have had errors in your report corrected, it is wise to periodically check your credit report to make sure the errors do not reappear. The free copies are mailed to you when you call the credit bureaus to establish a fraud alert. When creditors encounter the fraud alert, they are supposed to contact you to determine if it is truly you or if it is an imposter making the application for credit. With some exceptions, this option is offered free to victims of identity theft who provide a police report to the credit bureaus. Those who are not victims of identity theft may have the option of freezing their credit reports for a fee in those states that offer the freeze. After seven years, negative information in your report should automatically be deleted. California law, the seven years begins 180 days from the date of the original delinquency. Chapter 7 bankruptcy should be deleted after 10 years from the filing date. Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which includes some debt repayment terms, remains on your credit report for seven years. Otherwise, negative information will remain in your file for the period allowed by law. You may include in your 100-word explanation any extraordinary circumstances that led to the negative information, such the loss of a job or illness. Companies or individuals promising quick fixes are almost always fraudulent. These nonprofit groups have offices in most cities. Beware of other credit repair services. Generally they promise a lot, charge a lot and, deliver little. This is the source of the many pre-approved credit offers most consumers receive in the mail. If you respond, the creditor may access your report before you are actually granted credit. They can deny your credit application at that time. This is explained in the fine print on the pre-approved offer. A by the sale of personal credit information for target marketing purposes. Equifax states it does not sell lists used for direct or target marketing. Experian, on the other hand, sells lists of consumers to marketers derived from consumer surveys, demographics sources, and public records. These amendments give you a right to opt-out of the sharing of affiliate information. Look for opt-out instructions in the fine print of annual privacy notices you receive from your bank or credit card company. You will be provided with an address to contact to alert financial services companies of your opt-out preferences. A amendments require that if an adverse action is taken based on affiliate-shared information, you are to be notified. This information was sold to many information brokers who in turn sold it for a variety of investigative purposes. The sale of credit headers has been highly controversial. Security numbers, which are contained in credit headers. A in federal or state court. If you win, you may be entitled to recover an amount for damages you have actually incurred or a maximum of $1,000, whichever is greater. You may also recover court costs and attorney fees. A do investigate reported violations. A may also be filed with those agencies. A can be found at the end of this fact sheet. An investigative consumer report is normally used in limited circumstances including employment background checks, insurance, and rental housing decisions. An investigative consumer report does not contain information about your credit record that is obtained directly from a creditor or from you. For example, an investigative consumer report should not contain information about a late payment. This type of report cannot be used to grant credit. California has a separate law that governs credit checks. Federal law requires the requester of an investigative consumer report for employment purposes to obtain permission to conduct the report. An exception would be, for example, if an employee were being investigated for possible criminal activity. If the information obtained in the report is used by the employer to make a negative hiring decision, the employer must give the applicant a copy of the report. You have the same rights to correct and dispute inaccurate information in an investigative report as you have in a credit report. The three credit bureaus are a source of information regarding credit reports and credit reporting. It has developed several informative brochures on credit-related topics. Code section 1785 et seq. Code section 1786 et seq. This copyrighted document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit, educational purposes only. This fact sheet should be used as an information source and not as legal advice. Laws in other states may vary. Overall, our fact sheets are applicable to consumers nationwide.

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