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Credit Traps Snag Consumers
Nearly 20 years ago I worked for a small consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Each week we received sacks full of mail from consumers across the country requesting our list of credit cards with low interest rates and no annual fees....
Finding an auto loan with bad credit.
Finding an auto loan online is easy regardless of you credit score. By simply completing a simple one page application hundreds of online lenders who will compete for your loan business. There are certain guidelines you should follow which could...
How To Report An Error On Your Credit Report
Have you been turned down for a loan recently? Have you applied for store credit and been refused? Did you really want that car and find out that because of your 'credit score' that they would have to require an unreasonable down payment? Credit...
Instant Approval Credit Cards - The Advantages Of Applying Online
Getting instant approval for a credit card - and sometimes
getting immediate access to use it - can now be done in less
than 60 seconds. No muss, no fuss like the old days when getting
a credit card took a month or more. If you weren't aware of...
What Is Credit and How Does It Work?
Credit is a prettier word for debt. When you obtain credit you are borrowing money, or getting the right to access money (like a credit card, for example), and you agree to pay back the person or company that loaned you that money. In these type...
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The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) And You
Your credit report gets viewed by other people besides credit
grantors. Potential employers and insurance companies can deny
you employment, auto and home owner's insurance based on your
credit report. Understand your rights protected by The Fair
Credit Reporting Act.
No matter what many credit counseling scam artists may try to
tell you, no one can legally remove any information that is
up-to-date and accurate from your credit report. They can't do
it, and you can't do it yourself. However, you CAN request an
investigation of anything you find in your credit file that you
believe to be either incomplete or inaccurate. That is perfectly
legal, and can be done at NO cost to you. In fact, anything that
a credit repair company offers to do for you can be done
yourself, generally free or for a nominal fee.
In fact, there's a law that guarantees it. It's called the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under provisions of the FCRA, you
are entitled to receive a free credit report if a company denies
your application for credit, employment, or insurance. You must
ask for the report within sixty days of the refusal, and the
company must tell you which credit reporting company they used,
and provide you with their address and phone number. (The three
nationwide companies most often used are Experian, TransUnion,
and Equifax.)
The FCRA has made it mandatory for consumer credit reporting
companies to correct information that's incorrect or inaccurate.
To correct inaccuracies, you must first contact the reporting
company, in writing, telling them which information is incorrect
or incomplete. In your correspondence, include copies of
documents that will verify your claim. (Don't send originals!)
Clearly detail why each piece of disputed information is
incorrect, and then ask that the inaccurate information be
either corrected or removed from your file completely. It's
generally worthwhile
to include a copy of the credit report
itself, with each disputed item circled.
Once you've put your package together, send it to the company in
question by certified mail, indicating "return receipt
requested." That will allow you to be certain that the company
received your package. Also keep copies of everything for
yourself, of course!
The FCRA makes it mandatory that the reporting company
investigate each item you have disputed, often within thirty
days, unless they consider your dispute to be unworthy of
researching further. By law, they must also forward everything
you have provided them on to whatever company or organization
initially provided the disputed information in the first place.
That provider must then review and investigate the situation and
report back to the reporting company. If the provider has
mistakenly provided inaccurate information, they must correct it
with all three major reporting companies.
Once the investigation has been completed, the FCRA mandates
that the reporting company must provide you with the results, in
writing, and a free copy of the report if the investigation
resulted in a change in your credit report information. You may
also request that a copy of the amended credit report be sent to
anyone who may have received the disputed report during the
previous six months. If the report was given to potential
employers, you have a right to request that a corrected report
be sent to any employer who may have received the inaccurate
report during the past two years.
Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher
About the author:
Jeanette
Fisher teaches six ways to build credit. Free credit ebook "Credit
Tips for Mortgage Financing" http://worryfreecredit.com
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