Posts Tagged Fact Act
Get Your Free Government-Mandated Credit Reports
Robert Humphrey asked:
1. Introduction: The FACT Act
As of December 1st, 2004, a new federal law became effective called the FACT Act. This acronym stands for Fair & Accurate Credit Transaction Act. The main thing to understand is it means more change. The changes are for individual consumers, businesses, and the three (3) major credit bureaus. We will focus on the consumer and credit bureau changes for the purposes of this publication. If you need more information for the protection of your business, please consult with your legal counsel.
Here are some of the more notable changes:
Changes in credit information management for businesses, including criminal penalties Changes in credit dispute procedures & corrections, including cross-bureau corrections for consumers Changes in availability of personal credit information for your review (read they’re finally going digital) for consumers The objectives for this article are focused on educating the consumer to understand their options under the new law and include: Educate you on how Identity Theft is changing personal credit issues Educate you about your consumer rights & procedures for correcting erroneous credit information Educate you on how to stay on top of things for your financial security, so you can be more proactive in protecting you and your family
2. Before: Problems No One Wanted (& No One Seemed To Want To Address)
If you have ever tried to get erroneous credit information removed from one of your credit bureau reports, you know just how hard it has been to accomplish. One of the other credit bureau problems many of us have been through was trying to get one of the bureaus to correct a problem, and then get the subject credit bureau to communicate with the other two major credit bureaus. This was nearly impossible if you had to go through it yourself (and I had). One of the worst parts was that there seemed to be very little a consumer could do to challenge the three (3) major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The coup de gras was that if you didn’t have, or couldn’t acquire, the documentation the credit bureaus requested, you had very little chance to get the error or problem corrected. One of the other issues that has seemed to plague consumers who wanted to monitor their credit information has been cost. If you wanted to get your current credit reports, you had to pay money out of your own pocket just to monitor your information. Although many states had state laws to allow consumers one (1) free credit report per year, many consumers weren’t aware of this. The net effect was that most consumers rarely learned they had a problem until they had their credit bureaus pulled for a consumer transaction or application for credit. At that point if there was an unknown surprise, it was not uncommon for the consumer to receive a decline for the credit transaction.
Another major problem was that although you would think there would be strong laws in the past to protect consumer credit, the consumer protection laws on the books were not really effective. Many had concluded that a stronger deterrent to businesses mismanaging consumer credit information was needed as identity theft was increasing. So as identity theft began to explode in frequency and severity, there was a strong current of opinion to put some teeth into protecting consumers more. As soon as mismanaged credit information was tied to some cases of attempted identity theft & fraud as well as [criminally] successful cases, Congress finally acted. The result of their action was the new federal law called the FACT Act.
3. Massive Increases in ID Theft and Fraud Push Us over the Edge
You’ve all seen the incredible news on the television or in the newspapers about major financial institutions losing data archives in transit from their headquarters to their offsite storage location. This has happened so many times that the headlines don’t even startle anymore. Is that scary or what? We’re losing millions of records, or rather millions of may be lost or stolen, it seems like every month at least. Do you know what the really scary part is? In California, they have a law that says that if your credit records have the possibility of having been compromised, you must be informed. What if the loss or theft occurs in another state where the same laws don’t exist? That’s right. The credit bureaus may or may not notify based on the other state’s laws. So if you’re thinking that we may not be notified every time credit information might have been compromised, you would probably be right.
So how do these mass credit information compromises occur? Well, it can happen in many ways. Sometimes it happens because of an inside theft ring, at a credit card company for instance. Other times it’s just mismanagement or poor handling of client’s information, the loss of data backups for instance. One of the classic scams has been theft of credit information at a business establishment you had patronized.One of the scariest ideas that must be considered is that there are new scams being produced all of the time. Some intelligent, bright criminals are always working on new types of scams. It sounds crazy, but you may never be able to keep up with all of the scams. It is for this reason that you must become proactive in monitoring your credit information, at least until there are some step-changes in the way the current credit system is managed and maintained.
Consumer Changes
•• Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
•• Rolled out in western states 1st
•• Was across whole country by September 1st, 2005
•• One free report from each bureau/yr
•• Online credit information dispute resolution system
•• Automatic required supply of revised credit data to other credit bureaus
•• Protection thru severe penalties for credit data users
•• Can also use 877-322-8228
Further Info:FACT ACT Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 682FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Ellen Finn or Susan McDonald, Attorneys, (202) 326-3224, Division of Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
Gilbert
1. Introduction: The FACT Act
As of December 1st, 2004, a new federal law became effective called the FACT Act. This acronym stands for Fair & Accurate Credit Transaction Act. The main thing to understand is it means more change. The changes are for individual consumers, businesses, and the three (3) major credit bureaus. We will focus on the consumer and credit bureau changes for the purposes of this publication. If you need more information for the protection of your business, please consult with your legal counsel.
Here are some of the more notable changes:
Changes in credit information management for businesses, including criminal penalties Changes in credit dispute procedures & corrections, including cross-bureau corrections for consumers Changes in availability of personal credit information for your review (read they’re finally going digital) for consumers The objectives for this article are focused on educating the consumer to understand their options under the new law and include: Educate you on how Identity Theft is changing personal credit issues Educate you about your consumer rights & procedures for correcting erroneous credit information Educate you on how to stay on top of things for your financial security, so you can be more proactive in protecting you and your family
2. Before: Problems No One Wanted (& No One Seemed To Want To Address)
If you have ever tried to get erroneous credit information removed from one of your credit bureau reports, you know just how hard it has been to accomplish. One of the other credit bureau problems many of us have been through was trying to get one of the bureaus to correct a problem, and then get the subject credit bureau to communicate with the other two major credit bureaus. This was nearly impossible if you had to go through it yourself (and I had). One of the worst parts was that there seemed to be very little a consumer could do to challenge the three (3) major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The coup de gras was that if you didn’t have, or couldn’t acquire, the documentation the credit bureaus requested, you had very little chance to get the error or problem corrected. One of the other issues that has seemed to plague consumers who wanted to monitor their credit information has been cost. If you wanted to get your current credit reports, you had to pay money out of your own pocket just to monitor your information. Although many states had state laws to allow consumers one (1) free credit report per year, many consumers weren’t aware of this. The net effect was that most consumers rarely learned they had a problem until they had their credit bureaus pulled for a consumer transaction or application for credit. At that point if there was an unknown surprise, it was not uncommon for the consumer to receive a decline for the credit transaction.
Another major problem was that although you would think there would be strong laws in the past to protect consumer credit, the consumer protection laws on the books were not really effective. Many had concluded that a stronger deterrent to businesses mismanaging consumer credit information was needed as identity theft was increasing. So as identity theft began to explode in frequency and severity, there was a strong current of opinion to put some teeth into protecting consumers more. As soon as mismanaged credit information was tied to some cases of attempted identity theft & fraud as well as [criminally] successful cases, Congress finally acted. The result of their action was the new federal law called the FACT Act.
3. Massive Increases in ID Theft and Fraud Push Us over the Edge
You’ve all seen the incredible news on the television or in the newspapers about major financial institutions losing data archives in transit from their headquarters to their offsite storage location. This has happened so many times that the headlines don’t even startle anymore. Is that scary or what? We’re losing millions of records, or rather millions of may be lost or stolen, it seems like every month at least. Do you know what the really scary part is? In California, they have a law that says that if your credit records have the possibility of having been compromised, you must be informed. What if the loss or theft occurs in another state where the same laws don’t exist? That’s right. The credit bureaus may or may not notify based on the other state’s laws. So if you’re thinking that we may not be notified every time credit information might have been compromised, you would probably be right.
So how do these mass credit information compromises occur? Well, it can happen in many ways. Sometimes it happens because of an inside theft ring, at a credit card company for instance. Other times it’s just mismanagement or poor handling of client’s information, the loss of data backups for instance. One of the classic scams has been theft of credit information at a business establishment you had patronized.One of the scariest ideas that must be considered is that there are new scams being produced all of the time. Some intelligent, bright criminals are always working on new types of scams. It sounds crazy, but you may never be able to keep up with all of the scams. It is for this reason that you must become proactive in monitoring your credit information, at least until there are some step-changes in the way the current credit system is managed and maintained.
Consumer Changes
•• Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
•• Rolled out in western states 1st
•• Was across whole country by September 1st, 2005
•• One free report from each bureau/yr
•• Online credit information dispute resolution system
•• Automatic required supply of revised credit data to other credit bureaus
•• Protection thru severe penalties for credit data users
•• Can also use 877-322-8228
Further Info:FACT ACT Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 682FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT Ellen Finn or Susan McDonald, Attorneys, (202) 326-3224, Division of Financial Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
Gilbert
Make Good Use of Your Annual Free Credit Report
Steve Evans asked:
u can use your credit report you need to get yur report. Reports are available on request. Free credit reports requested by phone or mail will be processed within 15 days of receiving your request. Such reports were mandated by a federal law enacted in 2003. The program has all now been implemented.
AnnualCreditReport.com is reportedly the only official site where you can get a genuinely free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies. And if you/\’d rather order your free credit report by phone or by mail, you can do that too . AnnualCreditReport.com processes requests for free credit file disclosures (commonly called credit reports). I have been told that under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.
Now once you have joined up for your credit report such as at AnnualCreditReport.com, there is an extra peril. This is that when you receive phishing spam pretending to be your report provider asking for personal information, you may think it is from your real provider asking for your details again from you for a Review” or a “verification”. The thing to remember here is that all the nationwide consumer reporting companies have pledged that they will not send you an email asking for your personal information.
If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from your credit report provider – don/\’t trust them! Do not reply but delete the email, do not click on any link in the message.
Companies or individuals promising quick fixes are almost always fraudulent. The important thing to remember is that no one can have accurate information removed from the credit file. Companies still do get away with reading your report. Haven/\’t you ever received a pre-approved credit card?
Identity theft is also on the rise, now being the number one consumer complaint reported to the Federal Trade Commission. One of the first places identity theft shows up is often on your credit report.
Identity theft may show up as suspicious credit inquiries, changes of address, accounts in default, or new fraudulent accounts in your name.
Monitoring your credit report is your first line of defense in protecting your identity. I like to use the Stop Junk Mail service because I can stop all the credit card offers and other junk mail. Monitor your credit report to catch ID fraud early.
Information here should not be construed as advice and it is offered without legal responsibility or liability. It must be emphasised that you should consult a professionally qualified individual or company (such as an accountant, financial adviser or solicitor for example) should you need advice on your financial situation, as they will be able to relate their advice to your personal needs accordingly.
Evelyn
u can use your credit report you need to get yur report. Reports are available on request. Free credit reports requested by phone or mail will be processed within 15 days of receiving your request. Such reports were mandated by a federal law enacted in 2003. The program has all now been implemented.
AnnualCreditReport.com is reportedly the only official site where you can get a genuinely free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies. And if you/\’d rather order your free credit report by phone or by mail, you can do that too . AnnualCreditReport.com processes requests for free credit file disclosures (commonly called credit reports). I have been told that under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.
Now once you have joined up for your credit report such as at AnnualCreditReport.com, there is an extra peril. This is that when you receive phishing spam pretending to be your report provider asking for personal information, you may think it is from your real provider asking for your details again from you for a Review” or a “verification”. The thing to remember here is that all the nationwide consumer reporting companies have pledged that they will not send you an email asking for your personal information.
If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from your credit report provider – don/\’t trust them! Do not reply but delete the email, do not click on any link in the message.
Companies or individuals promising quick fixes are almost always fraudulent. The important thing to remember is that no one can have accurate information removed from the credit file. Companies still do get away with reading your report. Haven/\’t you ever received a pre-approved credit card?
Identity theft is also on the rise, now being the number one consumer complaint reported to the Federal Trade Commission. One of the first places identity theft shows up is often on your credit report.
Identity theft may show up as suspicious credit inquiries, changes of address, accounts in default, or new fraudulent accounts in your name.
Monitoring your credit report is your first line of defense in protecting your identity. I like to use the Stop Junk Mail service because I can stop all the credit card offers and other junk mail. Monitor your credit report to catch ID fraud early.
Information here should not be construed as advice and it is offered without legal responsibility or liability. It must be emphasised that you should consult a professionally qualified individual or company (such as an accountant, financial adviser or solicitor for example) should you need advice on your financial situation, as they will be able to relate their advice to your personal needs accordingly.
Evelyn
Free Credit Reports – Take Full Advantage Of The Free Credit Report!
Abhishek Agarwal asked:
When a company is deciding whether or not to give you a loan, a mortgage or a credit card it checks your credit report. Your credit report contains information about every credit transaction you have made. If you failed to make a payment or defaulted on a loan then it will be on your credit report.
Until the US government brought in legislation to make this information freely available to you only finance companies, banks and mortgage lenders could see it. Now you are entitled to see it too.
The FACT Act made it possible to see your credit record for free every year for the first time. You need no longer be in the dark about what the finance companies know about you.
This is information about you and it is your right to see it. You should make use of that right because it affects your ability to get loans, credit cards and mortgages. If you are refused credit is probably because of something in your credit report.
There may be mistakes in your credit report that are stopping you from getting a loan. Someone may have fraudulently used your identity to take out a credit card or loan which they have not paid. You will then be left with a bad credit report that is not your fault.
There are three companies that compile credit reports. You can only get to see one of those reports for free. But if there are mistakes in that one then it will be worth your while to pay for the other two.
Not all the credit reporting companies have exactly the same information. They compile their data in slightly different ways.
Once you have seen the report and checked it against your own records you can correct inaccuracies any inaccuracies it may contain. There is a facility on the websites of the credit reporting companies for you to inform them of mistakes in your report. You will have to produce written evidence such as bank statements or credit card statements. But the process is quite simple.
By correcting inaccuracies in your credit report you are protecting your credit score. Even one mistake can make the difference between getting a loan and being refused credit.
All Americans can now get a free credit report every year. It is a responsible financial practice to take advantage of this opportunity. By doing so you are taking control of your own finances.
You can guard against identity theft, you can correct errors, and you can see if your credit score is falling because you have a pattern of late payments. It is in your interests to maintain a good credit score. If you check your credit record every year you can address problems as they arise.
Jill
When a company is deciding whether or not to give you a loan, a mortgage or a credit card it checks your credit report. Your credit report contains information about every credit transaction you have made. If you failed to make a payment or defaulted on a loan then it will be on your credit report.
Until the US government brought in legislation to make this information freely available to you only finance companies, banks and mortgage lenders could see it. Now you are entitled to see it too.
The FACT Act made it possible to see your credit record for free every year for the first time. You need no longer be in the dark about what the finance companies know about you.
This is information about you and it is your right to see it. You should make use of that right because it affects your ability to get loans, credit cards and mortgages. If you are refused credit is probably because of something in your credit report.
There may be mistakes in your credit report that are stopping you from getting a loan. Someone may have fraudulently used your identity to take out a credit card or loan which they have not paid. You will then be left with a bad credit report that is not your fault.
There are three companies that compile credit reports. You can only get to see one of those reports for free. But if there are mistakes in that one then it will be worth your while to pay for the other two.
Not all the credit reporting companies have exactly the same information. They compile their data in slightly different ways.
Once you have seen the report and checked it against your own records you can correct inaccuracies any inaccuracies it may contain. There is a facility on the websites of the credit reporting companies for you to inform them of mistakes in your report. You will have to produce written evidence such as bank statements or credit card statements. But the process is quite simple.
By correcting inaccuracies in your credit report you are protecting your credit score. Even one mistake can make the difference between getting a loan and being refused credit.
All Americans can now get a free credit report every year. It is a responsible financial practice to take advantage of this opportunity. By doing so you are taking control of your own finances.
You can guard against identity theft, you can correct errors, and you can see if your credit score is falling because you have a pattern of late payments. It is in your interests to maintain a good credit score. If you check your credit record every year you can address problems as they arise.
Jill
Equifax Credit Report – Get Your Free Credit Report From Equifax!
Abhishek Agarwal asked:
Equifax has been compiling credit reports since 1899. You can now get your own free credit report every year from Equifax. Your credit report is what banks, mortgage and credit card companies use when they are deciding whether to grant you credit. It is a record of every credit transaction you have ever made.
Until recently you had to pay to get your credit report. But now thanks to the FACT Act which was passed in 2003 every American can see their own credit report. Previously, only companies had access to this information. Now you can see for yourself the information on which lenders base their decisions.
Equifax is a global company with 4,600 employees in 13 countries. With $1.4 billion in revenue it has a proven track record in the field of credit reports.
All you have to do to get your free credit report is to go to the Equifax website. Follow the simple instructions and your report will appear on your computer. You can download it or print it.
You must establish your identity by providing some information such as date of birth, social security number, name and address. Equifax needs to verify who you are before it hands out this sensitive information. But the whole process only takes a few key strokes.
Once you’ve got your credit report you can check it against your own records. If there are any inaccuracies you can report them to Equifax. When you provide the documentary evidence that a mistake has been made you can have the report corrected.
Then lenders will get an accurate picture of your credit history. If you have been the victim of identity theft and someone has used your name to get credit then you can have those transactions removed from your report.
Any inaccuracies in the credit report may have been lowering your credit score. Lenders may have refused you credit because they thought you were a bad risk.
There are two other companies that compile credit reports. You can also get free credit reports from them. But Equifax is one of the giants of the industry and a company that is well trusted by lenders. Equifax has been providing credit reports for over a century. So take advantage of the FACT Act and get your free credit report from Equifax today. Your credit score need no longer be a mystery to you.
Sally
Equifax has been compiling credit reports since 1899. You can now get your own free credit report every year from Equifax. Your credit report is what banks, mortgage and credit card companies use when they are deciding whether to grant you credit. It is a record of every credit transaction you have ever made.
Until recently you had to pay to get your credit report. But now thanks to the FACT Act which was passed in 2003 every American can see their own credit report. Previously, only companies had access to this information. Now you can see for yourself the information on which lenders base their decisions.
Equifax is a global company with 4,600 employees in 13 countries. With $1.4 billion in revenue it has a proven track record in the field of credit reports.
All you have to do to get your free credit report is to go to the Equifax website. Follow the simple instructions and your report will appear on your computer. You can download it or print it.
You must establish your identity by providing some information such as date of birth, social security number, name and address. Equifax needs to verify who you are before it hands out this sensitive information. But the whole process only takes a few key strokes.
Once you’ve got your credit report you can check it against your own records. If there are any inaccuracies you can report them to Equifax. When you provide the documentary evidence that a mistake has been made you can have the report corrected.
Then lenders will get an accurate picture of your credit history. If you have been the victim of identity theft and someone has used your name to get credit then you can have those transactions removed from your report.
Any inaccuracies in the credit report may have been lowering your credit score. Lenders may have refused you credit because they thought you were a bad risk.
There are two other companies that compile credit reports. You can also get free credit reports from them. But Equifax is one of the giants of the industry and a company that is well trusted by lenders. Equifax has been providing credit reports for over a century. So take advantage of the FACT Act and get your free credit report from Equifax today. Your credit score need no longer be a mystery to you.
Sally