CREDIT
The Credit Report
Your credit report is a recorded history of all of your credit decisions. Every time you are late paying a credit card or loan for the month, it is documented along with all of the specifics such as how many days late you were paying, and the amount that was due.
It is recommended that you check your credit report at least once a year through one of the three credit bureaus. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide you with a free copy
of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.
If you have been denied credit because of negative information in your credit report, you may ask which agency provided your credit history and then obtain a copy of your report from that agency within 60 days at no charge. In addition, you are entitled to one free report if:
- You are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days
- You are on welfare
- Your report is inaccurate due to fraud
Once you receive your credit report, be sure to check it for any negative information, whether accurate or inaccurate. Accurate negative information normally takes seven years to be removed from your record. There are exceptions to this rule:
- Information pertaining to criminal convictions may be reported indefinitely.
- Bankruptcy can be reported for 10 years.
- Information from an application for a job with a salary over $75,000 has no time limitation.
- Information from an application for over $150,000 in credit or life insurance has no time limitation.
- Information pertaining to a lawsuit or a judgment against you can remain on your report for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
If your report contains inaccurate information, you must write all three credit bureaus explaining the error along with COPIES of documents to support your position. Also, ask that the inaccurate information be corrected or removed from your credit report. The credit bureaus are required to investigate your complaint within 30 days. If your claim is denied, you can file a 100 word statement clarifying the negative information which will be included in your credit report.
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