According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 2005 , you may obtain one credit report from all three Credit Bureaus every 12 months at www.annualcreditreport.com. You may also receive a credit report if the following applies to your situation:
· Denied credit because of the information on credit report. Request a copy from the credit bureau within 60 day of being notified.
· Unemployed and plan to apply for job within 60 days following the request for the report.
· Receive public assistance.
· Believe credit file contains errors due to fraud.
· Victim of fraud. Contact all three agencies and request a “fraud alert” to be added to report.
If there is something incorrect reported on a credit report, submit a letter stating the problem to all three credit bureaus. A sample letter can be found at www.myfico.com. The letter should be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to document the credit bureau received the dispute. Do not send original documents of receipts and keep a copy of everything sent to the credit bureaus
The credit bureaus will contact the creditor who submitted the item within 5 business days of receiving the complaint. The creditor has 30 day to respond to the inquiry or the disputed item will be removed. If the credit bureau agrees the information is inaccurate or incomplete, the credit report must be updated with the correction or remove the item. The credit bureau will notify the creditor the reported item has been modified or deleted. The credit bureau must send notice within five business days if the disputed item is reinserted because the creditor provided documentation to prove the accuracy of the report.
If the disputed item shows up again it is time for more letters. Send a letter to the original creditor disputing the item. Resend the letters to the credit bureaus as well. All correspondence must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Removing an incorrect item on a credit report can be time consuming and frustrating, but it is important to be persistent. Credit reports determine the interest rates for new credit, can affect insurance premiums rates and may be evaluated when applying for a job.
Once a problem is resolved, you may request the credit bureau notify all the past inquiries of the corrected report for the last two years. Past employers may receive the updated report for the last 6 months at your requests. Review the credit report again in three to six months.
The three credit bureaus address are:
For more information:
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