Credit Cards and Credit Lines

Regarding credit reports. In the previous blog postings, we discussed loans and credit, credit scores and inquires, ect.  Well all this information is on your credit report.  And thats not all!

What else will be appear on your credit report?

• Your home telephone number

• Your current and previous addresses

• Your current and previous employers

• All your consumer financial information, including loan balances and credit limits.

• Public records information like Tax liens and bankruptcies, for those that have them.

Collection agencies, are the the worst things that could be on a report., besides a federal tax lien. They pull your credit score down alot.  Credit scores are commonly referred to as a FICO score.

Employment information

Credit Bureaus collect all this information that is being reported by creditors. The 3 major credit bureaus are Trans Union, Experian and Equifax.  They sell your information to your lenders and creditors and you!  Creditors and lenders subscribe (pay a fee) to receive your consumer credit information in the form of a credit report.  Also we (the consumers) have to pay a fee to see our credit reports.  You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report when you have been denied credit.  So be sure to get your copy and see whats being said about you.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates the credit reporting industry.  The law says how long certain credit items can remain on your credit report and what you can do about it.  If your having trouble sleeping one night I recommend reading the FCRA at  http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.htm

If you need legal advice pertaining to this, always seek a competent attorney.

You as a consumer have protection and legal rights under the FCRA.  Basically all information on your credit report has to be 100% accurate.  If you dispute a credit item that you find contained in your credit report…and it’s incorrect, contact the credit bureau and dispute it.  If the credit bureau cannot verify the information in a reasonable time period (usually 30 days) the disputed item must be deleted.  Be persistent and learn your rights!

You are entitle to free credit reports each year at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp