Protecting your credit

Your credit report isn't always an accurate reflection of your credit activities. With millions of data entries coming and going between merchants and credit bureaus every day, there are bound to be errors and misunderstandings. Of course, your report may be accurate but still not be as positive as you'd wish. There are ways you can clean up your report. It's up to you, though; no one cares about your credit as much as you, and no one else can give you the ability to get to the money you need when you need it.

Monitoring your reports
You're entitled to see your credit report at any time. TRW allows one free report per year. In 1996, Trans Union and Equifax charged a fee between 8 and $16 per report. (now days it varies)

If you've been turned down. You're entitled to a free report from the credit bureau if something in your report has led to your being denied credit, a job, or insurance. By law, the company rejecting you has to send you written notice if one of the reasons for the decision was negative information on your credit report. You must request your report within 30 days of this written notice.

To request a report (free or otherwise), provide in writing your name, addresses from the past five years, social security number, birth date, phone number, and if applicable, a copy of the letter informing you that you were rejected because of the report.

Fixing errors
Inaccurate credit reports are a common source of consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. Although the three national credit bureaus try to resolve problems within 30 days, there's no guarantee they will. Make copies of everything you send them in case your letters are lost.

How it works. Every credit report comes with instructions on how to report errors. Follow them and return your request to the credit bureau. The bureau is supposed to contact the merchant who supplied the disputed information and ask if it's correct. If it's wrong, the bureau fixes your report. If the merchant doesn't answer within 90 days, the bureau is supposed to drop the information from the report (but you'll have to follow up to be sure). If the merchant says it's correct, the bureau will tell you.

Having your own say
By law, you have the credit bureau palce a statement — 100 words Maximum — in your file explaining your version of the dispute. The bureau must also include your statement in any report it sends out.

When you apply for a loan, a lender will see the statement and take it into account. You may also want to place a statement in your file to explain a period of delinquency caused by some unexpected event, such as a serious illness or unemployment, that drastically reduced your income.

Addresses and Phones

You can mail requests for credit reports to the tree national credit bureaus:

Equifax Information Srevice Center
PO Box 105873, Atlanta GA 30348.
Or fax to (404) 612-2668

Trans Union Customer Relations Center
PO Box 390, Springfield, PA 19064

TRW, Attention: NCAC, Box 9409, Allen, TX 75002

You can request a report by vocie mail if you’ve been denied credit within the last 30 days. (If the phone request gets lost and you wait more than 30 days, you may be asked to pay for the report. To avoid confusion, mention the date of your phone request in your letter.)

Equifax: (800) 685-1111
Trans Union: (800) 851-2674
TRW (800) 392-1122


Fighting Back

Legal protection. You can sue anyone who obtains a report on you illegally or for illegal purposes. As of April 1996, the maximum you could collect was $2,500.

If a bureau doesn’t respond. You can complain to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) in Washington, D.C., who contact the bureau. Or you can call your state attorney general’s office for help.

Beware. The mail and the internet are filled with offers to monitor your credit, get your credit report, and repair your credit. Experts say most of these offers are scams or misleading at best. Their advice is to never give your social security or credit card number to anyone over the phone or internet unless you’re sure of their legitimacy; if you know the company, for example.