Tough Lawyers

Credit bureaus, which are also called "credit reporting agencies" or "consumer reporting agencies," regularly collect and sell your personal financial and credit information to lenders, credit sellers, insurance companies and even employers. Of the approximately 550 million credit reports sold every year, almost half contain at least one error, and many contain multiple errors.
If you intend to apply for credit, a job, or an apartment, it is important for you to be aware of the contents of your credit reports, and to correct any incorrect information that may keep you from getting the credit you deserve.

2) HOW CAN I GET A COPY OF MY CREDIT REPORT?

Thanks to the federal FACT Act, consumers nationwide are now able to get a free copy of their credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.
To order your free report once a year you can call the official toll-free number: (877) 322-8228 or you can go online to www.annualcreditreport.com where you can order your reports directly. Or you can print out the form and mail your request. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf
In addition, there are certain circumstances where you are entitled to a free copy. The rule that gives you free access once a year does not affect your ability to get a free report in the situations listed below. You are entitled to a free credit report:

If you have been denied credit (you must request a copy within 60 days)
If you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days
If you are on public welfare assistance
If you have reason to believe your file contains inaccurate information due to fraud or identity theft
If an adverse decision related to your employment has been made based in whole or in part on information contained in the report
If your report has been revised based upon an investigation you request
If you are a resident of Colorado, Georgia (2 per year), Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, or Vermont.

You many also purchase your credit report by visiting the web site of one of the three major national credit bureaus listed above and submitting a request.
The addresses, telephone number, and website of the three major national credit-reporting agencies are listed below:
Equifax Credit Bureau
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, Georgia 30374
(800) 685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union Corporation
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
877-322-8228
http://www.transunion.com/

3) HOW DO I CORRECT MY CREDIT REPORT?

Credit reports often contain mistakes. In fact, more than 20 % of all complaints made to the FTC involve inaccurate credit reports. Often the best approach to correcting an inaccurate report is to contact the party who furnished the inaccurate information to the reporting agency. In other words, you should first contact the credit card company or lender, etc. who reported you as delinquent.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that requires the furnisher of information to participate in what is called a reinvestigation. You should also dispute the accuracy with all three major credit bureaus. They too must conduct a reinvestigation free of charge or simply delete the disputed information within three business days. Once the credit bureau learns of your dispute, it is legally obligated to reinvestigate that information, note its current status, and promptly inform you of the results of the investigation and what it has decided to do about the disputed information.

You are able to dispute information on your credit report by visiting the web site of any of the above-named credit bureaus, or you may submit a written request. If you submit a request in writing, make sure to include:

Your complete name, address and social security number;
A clear description of the item(s) in the credit report that you are disputing;
An explanation of why the item is inaccurate or incomplete;
A request for deletion or correction of the item;
A copy of the credit report in question;
You should also include as much background and written verification of the correct information as possible, since the credit bureau is permitted to ignore inquiries that it reasonably believes are frivolous.

Before sending the above described letter to the credit bureau, you should be sure to make a copy of the letter and staple the copy to the return receipt card when it comes back in the mail from the certified mailing.

If you do not receive a response from the credit bureau within thirty days, a follow-up letter should be sent along with a copy of the original letter. The follow-up letter should request that the reporting agency either delete or correct the disputed item since it did not initially respond within a reasonable amount of time, and state that you will file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission if this is not done. The FTC's address is 6th & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580.

In addition, the credit bureau is required to send copies of your corrected report to any creditor who has checked your file in the past six months, or two years if the user received the report for employment purposes (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(d)). However, you must request that this notice be sent to past users and you must specifically designate which users should receive this notice (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(d)). This protects you by ensuring that your report is sent only to those companies or organizations you authorize.

Finally, if the credit reporting agency does not change the disputed information, you are entitled to file a statement with the credit bureau of up to one hundred words describing your position on each item of disputed information (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(b)). The credit bureau must include these statements in each future copy of your report. This requirement does not apply, though, if the credit bureau reasonably believes a dispute is frivolous.

You should be aware that simply because information is corrected or a statement is filed with one bureau does not mean that it will automatically be corrected by all of the bureaus. You may have to contact each bureau to ensure the consistency of your report among the bureaus. Even if only one credit bureau is involved, you should obtain a new copy of your credit report three or six months later to determine whether the inaccurate information has been erroneously reinserted.

Credit bureaus are vast bureaucracies where your problems may be resolved slowly. Since the credit bureau's real customer is the user who purchases the credit report, there is no guarantee that you will get immediate satisfaction. It is important to note, however, that costly credit repair companies have no better chance at success than you when dealing with credit bureaus.

4) HOW LONG CAN NEGATIVE INFORMATION STAY ON MY CREDIT REPORT?

Generally, adverse information can only be reported for seven years from when the action being reported occurred (default on a loan, for example)(15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(6)). Bankruptcy can be reported for ten years from the date the bankruptcy was filed (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(1)). Unfortunately, correct information cannot be removed from a credit report until the legal time limit for reporting that information has expired.

5) ARE THERE COMPANIES THAT CAN “FIX” MY CREDIT REPORT?

Despite claims to the contrary, credit repair companies cannot remove correct information until the time limit has expired. And you can have inaccurate information removed from your credit report yourself, without incurring the additional expense of a credit repair company.

6) CAN CREDITORS HARASS ME IN AN EFFORT TO COLLECT MONEY?

No. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act promotes ethical business practices by debt collectors. The Act contains specific rules on how debt collectors can communicate with you at home and at work.

You can stop all contacts by the collections agency if you send them a certified letter stating that you no longer want to be contacted by the collection agency. You must keep a copy of the letter that you sent, the certified mail receipt, and the green card that is returned to you by the US Post Office with the signature of the party that signed for the certified mail at the collection agency. Keep in mind that although the collection agency can no longer contact you the creditor still has the right to file suit to collect the debt.

In addition, to get the creditors off you back you can also retain an attorney. Once you retain an attorney, the Act requires the creditor to cease all contact with you directly and deal only with your attorney.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR CREDIT REPORT

1) WHAT IS A CREDIT REPORTING AGENCY AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

2) HOW CAN I GET A COPY OF MY CREDIT REPORT?

3) HOW DO I CORRECT MY CREDIT REPORT?

4) HOW LONG CAN NEGATIVE INFORMATION STAY ON MY CREDIT REPORT?

5) ARE THERE COMPANIES THAT CAN “FIX” MY CREDIT REPORT?

6) CAN CREDITORS HARASS ME IN AN EFFORT TO COLLECT MONEY?