Credit Reporting

On December 4, 2003, President Bush signed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act. There is now a centralized system where you can get all three credit reports once every 12 months. The three credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and Transuion. To get your free credit report, visit https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp.

This new legislation is intended to stem the rapidly growing problem of identity theft and to improve the accuracy of consumer records. The legislation:

• Gives all consumers the right to obtain one free credit report every year from each of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies. (The reports will come from a single, centralized source.)
• Requires consumer credit reporting agencies to notify consumers that credit scores are available to them upon request.
• Requires certain mortgage lenders to disclose credit scores to certain home loan applicants.
• Prohibits merchants from printing more than the last five digits of a credit or debit card number on an electronic receipt.
• Requires creditors to notify consumers before sending negative information about them to credit reporting agencies.
• Allows consumers to place "fraud alerts" in their credit files. Creditors who receive these alerts must follow certain procedures before issuing new credit to prevent identity thieves from using stolen information to open new accounts.
• Gives victims of identity theft the right to block information from being given to, and reported by, a credit reporting agency if that information results from identity theft.
• Requires credit reporting agencies to develop procedures for sharing consumer complaints related to identity theft.
• Limits the circumstances under which a consumer's medical information can be furnished by credit reporting agencies.

Learning Center: Do you really know what your credit report says? When you apply for a loan, credit card or even a cellular phone, your credit report will be accessed. Make sure you know what is on your report before you apply. Mistakes, theft and overlooked obligations can cause unexpected damage to your credit history. If you find any suspicious or inaccurate information, file a formal dispute with each of the three credit bureaus. Improving poor credit can be a long and arduous process. If you have struggled through a period of financial difficulty, or even filed for bankruptcy, your ability to obtain credit may be compromised long after you have gotten back on your feet. Luckily, the realities of a highly competitive market and an ever-changing economy have made most lenders less squeamish about making loans to a consumer with less than exemplary credit. Additionally, there are measures you can take to improve your credit file, such as refusing to get bogged down in shame or regret and getting to work instead.

Read our latest Credit Report Article and Credit Repair Article.