Free Credit Rating Report Bureaus

The three main credit bureaus TransUnion, Eqifax and Experian by Federal government mandate are required to provide consumers with one free credit report each year if they so demand. Consumers should take advantage of this fact and obtain a free credit score report each year to make sure that they’re making steady progress on the credit scores.

Credit reports compiled by TransUnion, Equifax and Experian are based on the information provided by the partners of each of these bureaus (Read more about partners in our article on ‘What companies report to credit bureaus‘). Partners include banks, mortgage lenders, insurance providers, credit card companies, financial institutions and any other organization that is capable of providing finance. Every loan that you take out or any credit inquiry that you make gets reported by these partners to the respective bureaus.

In most cases these partners report to the credit bureaus every 30 days. That information not only includes credit inquiries and an applications but also missed payments, arrears, foreclosures, bankruptcy proceedings and any other detrimental credit information.

Tips For Free Credit Report Checks

It is essential to remember that not all the credit reports will be the same. Not every partner provides the same amount of detailed information to each bureau. In some cases not only account information is revealed. Owing to this fact, credit scores can vary largely between the three bureaus. As such when making a decision an average of the three scores of is taken.

Only the consumer making the request can see his or her free credit report. Your free credit score report is only meant for you. In some cases however a court made want to see it, in which case you would be required to provide them with your free to report. In certain instances your employer prior to employing you, may want to see your credit report to make sure that you are not an undisclosed bankrupt.

Consumers often feel that by requesting a free credit report they are affecting their credit scores. This is not true. If you request your own free credit report check you are not affecting your credit score. Free credit reports are meant to help consumers improve their FICO credit scores by being able to keep a tab on them.

Free credit reports are available from the age of eighteen for every individual with a social security number in the United States. In a lot of cases because it is the first credit support of an individual, the credit score might be lower than usual. This is quickly adjusted once an individual enters into credit agreements.

These are some facts that individual should know about their free credit score report. As it gets tougher and tougher to obtain credit, individuals should do everything in their power to ensure that their credit scores are the best they can be. Free credit reports are a good tool to help you do exactly that.

Credit Card Bill Of Rights – Protecting Consumer Credit Card Debt

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility And Disclosure Act or simply, the Credit CARD Act of 2009 introduced by President Barack Obama might just be a corner stone in the US financial industry. This new credit card legislation ushers in a new era of consumer credit card debt protection and acts as a credit card bill of rights for consumers. Under the new act the following will need to be observed by credit card companies:

• Retroactive rate increases: The new credit card act prohibits lenders from increasing rates at their wish. Only if the credit card debt has been unpaid for over 60 days can the rate be increased.
• Agreements posted online: According to the new credit card legislation the credit card issuers will need to post consumer credit card debt contracts online to allow more transparency.
• Shifting of payment dates: The credit card bill of rights prohibits the shifting of repayment dates by the credit card companies. If a certain date has been set out in the contract, it needs to be followed.
• Mailing of statements: Credit card companies are now required to mail out the credit card debt statements to consumers 21 days prior to the payment being due.
• Clearer and more transparent disclosure: The credit card bill of rights is aimed at doing away with hidden fees and charges and is targeted at bringing in complete client disclosure. This will enable consumers to make a more informed decision about credit card debt.
• Marketing to teenagers and college students: Under the new credit card legislation, credit card companies are being dissuaded from advertising their services to teenagers or college students.

Credit CARD Act 2009 – Effect on Consumer Credit Card Debt

The question on everyone’s mind at the moment is “How is it going to affect me?” The new credit CARD act will affect consumers in the following way:

• Lesser availability of credit: With the new credit card act in place, consumer credit policy across the board will be tightened thereby reducing the approval rate for new credit cards.
• Price of credit: The new credit card legislation has not placed a cap of fees and charges charged by credit card companies. This in the long run would mean that credit card companies may charge higher interest rates and fees on new credit card debt.
• Rating system to be used: Just as any other credit instrument, credit card companies will need to use a 5 star rating for consumer credit applicants and will have to disclose this rating on the approval and credit instrument.
• Higher repayments: With the increased interest rates charged by the credit card companies, it may lead to increased repayments, thereby affecting your net cash flow.

Credit CARD Legislation 2009 – Effects On My Credit Report?

While the new credit card legislation is an attempt on the part of the government to protect consumers, the credit card act is also an attempt to ensure that consumers live within their budget and not beyond it. Credit cards are meant to be used as a lifeline and not be solely dependent upon. Hence in the long run with the new credit card debt reforms, this will lead to lower overall debt on your credit report. In addition the regulation to not shift repayments dates will mean that clients will have better repayment history and eventually a better and improved FICO credit report.

Credit Card Accounts To Build Good Credit

Having credit card accounts is not necessarily a bad idea if you use them wisely. To build good credit, you must have a credit history and often applicants with no history on their credit scoring report find it hard to get new credit or loans. For this reason, credit card balance can be useful and help to build good credit. Even if you are in the low income bracket, you might be able to get a low credit limit credit card. However, only apply for a new credit card account if you can afford the repayments or it will just end up damaging your credit scoring report.

Close Credit Card Accounts For Credit Card Balance Transfer?

If you have a credit card balance with Bank A and Bank B comes along and offers you better interest rates, it seems the only logical thing to do would be to close your credit card account with Bank A and transfer your credit card balance to Bank B’s credit card immediately. But before you do that, consider what that means for your credit scoring report.

When moving from one credit card account to another, if the credit line on both accounts is the same, your “debt percentage” stays the same. Your debt percentage is the amount of money you owe in proportion with your credit line. So if you have a $5000 credit line on your credit card account and have used $2500 of it, your debt percentage is 50%. Credit card balance transfer from one account to another with the same credit line does not decrease your debt percentage at all. If your new account has a lower credit line, this increases your debt percentage.

Leave Credit Card Accounts Open For High Credit Score

Transferring your credit card balance to a new account makes sense when you can save money on interest but do it the smart way. If your credit card account with Bank A has been open for 5 years and you have only just opened a new credit card account with Bank B; Bank A is a valuable asset on your credit scoring report. Even if you do not use the account, leave it open. This gives you a larger credit line (Bank A + Bank B) but since the amount of money you owe remains the same, your debt percentage decreases and this is a good way of maintaining a high credit score. If you close your account with Bank A, your well-established credit scoring report history is deleted and you start afresh and this will affect your high credit score.

Build Your Credit With New Credit Card Accounts

Each time you apply for new credit, your credit scoring report rating falls slightly however if used wisely, new credit card accounts can help to build your credit. Here are some tips:

• To build your credit score, your new credit card balance should decrease your debt percentage so think hard before applying.
• Only apply for credit card accounts that you can afford to repay and really need.
• Applying for  too much new credit and too often will negatively impact your credit scoring report and you definitely do not want that.
• Credit card balance transfers to new credit card accounts with lower interest rates will save you money but consider the implications on your credit scoring report and act accordingly.
• If you transfer your credit card balance to a new account, leave the unused old account open for a few years to maintain a high credit score on your credit scoring report. This will help build your credit rating until you have established a repayment history on your new account.

Free Copy Of Credit Report Scams

When trying to get a free copy of credit report, it is easy to get misled by advertisements or promotional emails that claim to do all the legwork for you. Truth is, getting your free annual credit report is not much work so you do not need a third party to mediate. It is your right to get a free copy of your credit report and if internet advertisements are making you believe otherwise, you are being scammed. A credit report scam might covertly sign you up for an expensive credit monitoring or repair service that you do not really need. On the other hand, some credit report scams are cleverly disguised identity theft operations that will ask for all your information to get you a free copy of credit report and steal all your information.

Free Annual Credit Report Without A Credit Card

When looking for your free annual credit check, if a website asks you for your credit card details, it should be an immediate red flag. You can get your free annual credit report without a credit card from all three credit reporting bureaus. Websites asking you for credit card details and other personal information including your name, address, social security number and the like are more likely to be a credit report scam. Log on to AnnualCreditReport.com and you will be able to get your free annual credit report without a credit card.

Free Credit Score From AnnualCreditReport.com

If you Google “free annual credit” and your search leads you to a site other than annualcreditreport.com, and the site asks for credit card details or other personal information to get you your free credit score, you should quit immediately because it is probably a credit report scam. AnnualCreditReport.com is sponsored by all three consumer reporting agencies – Experian, TransUnion and Equifax and is the only website authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide you with your free annual credit report. Your only other option for a free annual credit check may be CreditKarma.com; however it only offers a free TransUnion credit score.

Tips For Getting Your Annual Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to one free annual credit report each year so here are some tips:

• Always double check the address you type in your browser as there is many a credit report scam with names similar to AnnualCreditReport.com and they might try to hoodwink you.
• Instead of getting your free annual credit report from all three credit bureaus at the same time, space them out over the course of the year so you can view a new one every few months.
• Download your free annual credit history immediately as for security reasons; it may not be available later. You might also have the option of getting your free credit score posted to you.
• If you have already accessed your free annual credit report and need another copy, approach any of the consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion or Experian) directly instead of using a third party and running the risk of a credit report scam.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) For Consumer Credit Worthiness

The FCRA and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act together form the basis of the American consumer credit system. Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission in 1970, the Fair Credit Report Act is federal law and grants consumers certain rights to protect them from unfair credit reporting methods.

Consumer Reporting Agencies And Credit Report Errors

The credit reporting act governs all consumer reporting agencies in the country, which includes the three major credit bureaus and other specialty agencies that report rental, check writing and medical histories. Credit report errors made by these consumer reporting agencies often affect a consumer’s credit standing and without the credit reporting act rights, the consumer would have no way of fighting back against unfair credit reporting methods.

The FCRA – Credit Reporting Act Rights

As per the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair Credit Reporting Act, every consumer has the right to dispute inaccurate credit reports. Therefore, in order to help a consumer regain their credit standing, they have certain credit reporting act rights. Some of the major consumer rights are:

• The right to know what is included in your credit file. Since 2005, every consumer has the right to request a free consumer credit worthiness report from consumer reporting agencies annually.
• If an entry in your consumer report is used to take action against you such as being denied further credit or employment, the Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to obtain the details of the consumer reporting agency that provided the information.
• To determine your credit standing, you may request a credit score from one of the consumer reporting agencies. However, a fee will be charged for this.
• As per the FCRA, a credit report error can be disputed by a consumer at any time. In order to comply with fair and accurate credit reporting standards, consumer reporting agencies are required to investigate the issue when a consumer claims credit report errors.
• If credit report errors are found to be true, consumer reporting agencies are required to immediately delete the information from the consumer’s report and re-establish their credit worthiness.
• Credit bureaus and other agencies are required to correct inaccurate credit reports and always use up-to-date and verified information to determine a consumer’s credit standing.
• The FCRA explicitly specifies those who might need access to a consumer report; i.e. creditors, insurers, landlords etc. Consumer reporting agencies may provide information only to these and protect your credit report from all others.
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act instructs consumer reporting agencies that they must seek a consumer’s permission before providing credit reports to employers.
• Consumers have the right to limit and eliminate pre-screened credit offers.
• If a credit reporting agency is found guilty of unfair credit reporting methods or a user of the credit report information does not comply with the Federal Trade Commission requirements, the Fair Credit Reporting Act Rights allows a consumer to sue for damages.
• The Fair Credit Report Act has special provisions for victims of identity theft.

Some states have incorporated the FCRA while others have their own credit reporting act – each giving a consumer the right to fair and accurate credit reporting and protecting them from unfair credit reporting methods and credit report errors.

James Marland was having issues with his credit report and decided to seek advice from a credit repair company. However, after weighing the costs and pros and cons of a credit repair service, he decided to help himself instead and fix his own credit report.

James’ story puts into perspective the question “Are credit repair services actually needed?” or is credit restoration possible without help from them?

Credit Repair Services – Why They Are Needed

Credit repair services find their place in today’s complex environment owing to the fact that there is a lot of negotiation involved with third parties in order to repair your credit report.

Credit repair companies are usually adept at this and hence know all the channels. In order to avoid the constant hassling of creditors and finance companies, many people opt for these credit repair services. However, with a little organization, you can do this yourself too.

Expensive Credit Repair Help

A lot of people nowadays are seeking credit repair help from credit repair services, however these companies can be expensive. This is not to say that credit help agencies don’t help. They are useful for those who can’t find the time in the day or could do without the hassle. However, you can undertake your own credit restoration too, provided you are willing to invest the time and energy in to it. However, if you would still like a credit repair company to handle it for you; be prepared for the bill.

Credit Restoration – You Can Do It Without A Credit Repair Service

With the easy availability of information and other useful resources available these days, there is no reason why an individual can’t repair their own credit report. Moreover it is also your right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Repairing your credit report would include getting rid of:

• Overdue Accounts
• Defaults
• Judgments
• Clearouts
• Crossed/linked files etc.

Benefits Of Improving Your Poor Credit Rating

By improving your poor credit rating, you can enjoy benefits such as:

• It removes any negative listings that may have appeared on your credit report
• An improved credit report leads to lower interest rates
• It reduces upfront payments
• Owing to lower interest rates it also reduces your repayments and saves you thousands in higher repayments

Do It Yourself Credit Repair Help

If you are willing to make a bit of an effort to improve your poor credit rating, your credit restoration process does not require you to employ a credit repair company.

1. Obtain a copy of your credit report.
2. If you do notice any errors in your credit report, report them to the proper agencies or bureaus and obtain a copy of written communication.
3. Seek credit advice from your finance providers in case you feel that you might be struggling.
4. If you have fallen behind on payments, make a budget of your expenses and income to figure out how much extra you can contribute towards those repayments in order to catch up.
5. Try and make your payments on time and stay on top of them.

However, at the end of day if you are still struggling, you can always use credit repair services for assistance. Just be careful and avoid the scams promising credit restoration but not really providing any credit repair help.

Alison had a credit card with a credit institution. Although Alison had been very regular with her payments, owing to a system error, her payments were not recorded and were being credited to another account. Her account showed defaults for over two and half months. Alison was completely unaware of this, till she applied for a mortgage. Her application was rejected owing to her repayment history.

She eventually took this up with her credit card company and had the issue resolved, but was unaware that the credit card company had not informed the credit bureau and these listings stay on your report for a five year period.

Credit Report Error Examples

Alison’s credit report error story is not an isolated one. Some common examples of credit errors are:

• Payments not credited to your accounts.
• Default interest wrongly charged to your accounts.
• Incorrect account set-ups there by causing payments to come out early and placing your account in arrears.
• You do not have any dealings with the lender listed.
• The listing on your credit report was over 5 years ago.
• The same credit default has been recorded multiple times.
• The debt default listed had nothing to do with you and you have not acquired the debt.

These are just some examples of the kind of credit errors that may creep into your credit report.

Improve Your Score with Correct Information

In addition to the five elements such as payment history, balances owed, new credit applied for, types of credit and length of credit history, your credit report also records the following:

1.       Your name (including previously used names)

2.       Your address (including previous addresses)

3.       Court judgments.

4.       Dishonored cheques.

5.       Bankruptcy orders etc.

To improve your score the first thing you must do is ensure all the information on your credit report is absolutely accurate. Also it is important to know what is included in your score and which companies report to credit bureaus before you wage a battle with creditors and credit bureaus because sometimes what might seem like a credit error to you might actually be a rent default you had forgotten about.

Credit Report Repair – Get Rid of a Credit Error

The next issue is to solve any credit report errors that might have occurred on your score. Follow some of the steps below to improve your score and repair your credit report.

• Obtain a copy of your credit report regularly (as often as six months if need be) to ensure that no unwanted listings and credit errors have occurred.
• In the event that there is a listing that has wrongly appeared on your credit report, get in touch with your credit provider disputing the credit error and question the credit report error immediately.
• In certain cases the credit provider might have an external resolution system and in that case you might to file a credit error complaint with them to improve your score.
• Finally if none of the other avenues work, talk to the appropriate credit bureau and raise the issue with them by lodging a formal complaint about credit report errors and how it is affecting your score.
• The Federal Trade Commission regularly handles complaints about credit errors so you could complain to them to restore your score.
• Be prepared to fight a legal battle if necessary. This is your credit report and you should not take credit errors lying down. If a creditor will not fix a credit report error, inform them you are willing to hand over the matter for your solicitors to manage.
• If you are unable to repair your credit report alone, seek advice from a credit repair company but be careful as there are several scams out there.

Where to Begin

When rebuilding your credit report, the first thing you need to do is take a good look at your current credit score. Request a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau and learn about the various factors that can have an effect on your financial life. If you don’t fully understand your credit report, ask someone who does to help you out. Looking at your credit report will give you an idea of past wrongs and tell you exactly what not to do for a happy financial future.

Credit Report Rebuilding and Wrong Information

Credit reports often have wrong information and taking a look at your credit file will give you a chance to rectify these errors, if any. You must dispute these entries with the credit bureaus because correcting the mistakes will have a positive effect on your credit score. It’s definitely a great way to up the score with not too much hard work!

A Bigger Hurdle Than You Think

Bad credit is really a bigger hurdle than you think it is. Okay, so you might be able to live without a loan and maybe even the quintessential credit card. But a bad credit score affects other aspects of your life too. If you want a new phone on a plan, you won’t get it with a bad credit report. If you want to buy that trendy watch and pay for it in installments, your application might get rejected because of a poor credit score. Even worse, if you move to another city and want to rent a new place, you might have some trouble with that credit report.

Simple Tips to Get Started

Fixing your credit score and rebuilding your credit report isn’t impossible and here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re getting started:

Don’t make any new applications for a credit card or for any sort of credit for that matter. Every time you make a credit application, the organization you apply to will run a credit check. Considering your credit score isn’t that great, you will probably get rejected but the number of enquiries for your account will keep adding up.  Too many credit enquires can be damaging for your credit report.

Repay your debts, slowly but surely. The biggest mistake you could make is to run away from your debts. The more unpaid bills and debts you have, the worse your credit score gets. Instead, take a good hard look at everything you owe and start paying it back. Many companies and organizations will let you pay off pending dues in installments. If you can’t pay off lump sum amounts, sign up for such an payment plan and pay your dues in installments. When you start repaying your debts, your credit score will also gradually start getting better.

Keep a check on the spending. Obviously you can’t afford to keep spending more money while you’re trying to get on top of your financial game. Don’t use those credit cards and definitely do not buy things indiscriminately.

It’s not that hard if you really try. Try hard enough and you will soon have rebuilt your credit report back to perfection.

Internet is replete with information about rebuilding credit report and credit score, but the pity is that most of them are almost the same in a different way, and only few have something for you that can be really helpful to rebuild your credit report. If you are also looking for rebuilding your credit report, you must keep this fact in mind that establishing good credit record is easier than rebuilding it. But it is possible and you can achieve the desired results with better planning and thorough follow up.

Where to begin?

Your first step should be to know what your credit report really has right now and how can you get full awareness of its each and every aspect. So, you must request for a copy of your credit report and know about the factors that can be decisive for your financial life. It’s a well-known fact that some serious errors can exist in your credit report that can harm your credit score quite badly.

Credit report rebuilding and wrong information

If you find some error or wrong information in your credit report, your next step must be to dispute these errors with the credit bureaus. It can definitely lift your credit score if you succeed to remove these errors from your credit report.

Aside from knowing about the existing errors and wrong information, your credit report gives you an opportunity to have a close looks on its bad marks and know about your current credit scores. Thus, you can outline a strategy to build your credit report and get better credit score.

The biggest hurdle of the way

Bad credit serves as the greatest hurdle in your financial well-being and that’s why it is quite important to give a good amount of consideration to repair your credit. There are many credit repair programs available these days that claim to offer you best results within a month, but the ways they use to repair your credit, you can also use these by yourself and get some better results regarding building your credit with ease. So, you must consider before paying someone for the things that you can do yourself.

Few steps that you must consider

It is better if you do not submit any new application to any new credit card firm, as these sort of new applications often become the cause of needless inquires of your accounts and it can be quite damaging for your credit report.

It can be a better approach if you unlike many other do not tend to discard unused account and try to retain them instead. It can be a very effective step to build a reasonable credit and increase your credit score.

If you pay debt at time, have a good check on your spending and do not apply for more and more credit, these steps can be very helpful to rebuild your credit. You must also keep this fact in mind that rebuilding credit is a lot more difficult than establishing a good credit record.  So, you must try to establish a good credit record instead of looking for ways to rebuild or repair it.

A statement on credit report, which asks your lenders to make verification of your ID before giving away some credit on your account, is known as a fraud alert. You must get a free copy of your credit report if you are going to add the fraud alert on it.

How long fraud alerts remain on your credit report

These security alerts remain on your credit report for 90 days and it is shared with other credit bureaus as well. Thus, you can find sometime to check whether your credit report is free from credit fraud or not. If you do not find any, you need to let this alert expire on your credit report.

What your options really are

If you have become a victim of ID theft, you should add a statement of fraud victim and ask your lenders not to grant any credit in your name before contacting you. If you want to add a victim statement, you definitely need to file a police report and no doubt many people do so when they find that their credit card has been used. A fraud victim statement can last for seven years and it is shared with other credit agencies as well.

Why these fraud alerts are developed

These fraud alerts are developed to provide help to those people who are at higher risk of becoming a fraud victim, and similarly, those who have made verification of becoming a victim of fraud. According to Federal law, businesses must respond in a reasonable way to these alerts to make them more effective and purposeful.

How can you activate fraud alert on your credit report

You can activate the fraud alerts on your credit report through telephone or internet. If you do it with one credit reporting company, the same information will be share to the other two bureaus as well. As Experian says that the alert can last on your credit report for only 90 days and after 90 days you have to repeat it. However, if you have been becoming the victim of fraud for quite some time and have higher chances to become its victim again, you can place more comprehensive alerts on your credit report that can remain on your credit report for many years.

However, if you do so, there is problem with it, as if you get a 90 days fraud alert on your credit report it may be somewhat difficult for you to get credit. Though you can get mortgages, buy a car using loan, it will take some time and you will have to preplan for it.