Free Credit Bureau Report

Hector Milla asked:




Every individual is entitled to one free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The companies have long opened their doors in support of individuals wanting to keep track of what is happening in their own financial world. Any individuals report will contain a score. This so called credit score is meant to indicate how much of a risk the borrower will pose to a lender by rating the borrowers past habits of bill payment, and scoring them.

To receive a score, the individuals past information is sent through a system called the FICO model, which will evaluate the numbers received, and present the assigned credit bureau with the appropriate score. If a borrower requests such a score of any individual from one of the bureaus, the requester will have to pay a fee to the assigned bureau, where the bureau in turn will pay FICO to calculate the score.

Recently, a new way of calculating individual credit scores has been introduced by a new company. The new scoring system is meant to either lower the price FICO charges for its services to the credit bureaus, or to cut this service completely by being able to score individuals information without the middle man.

The new system looks much like an Elementary School Report Card:
Where 900-990 equals A,
801-900 equals B
701-800 equals C
601-700 equals D, and
501-600 equals F

FICA’s scoring system ranges from 300 to 850, where a score above 700 usually means that an individual will pose a low risk to the lender.

The new scoring system has caused for some controversy amongst borrowers because of individuals who would have scored well within a 701-800 score in the past are now being rated within the in C score. The new scoring system is also causing confusion for lenders since they must possibly start to read between the ranks in order not to rank an individual within a lower lending category he or she would have been entitled to when based on the FICA model. This new company, like others, has yet to be tested in comparison to FICO, which means that the final conclusion of whether one is better then the other is still missing. It do seems however, that this new company might present a more reliable rating system when basing a lending decision with any borrower.

Margaret

Samantha Monroe asked:




People who are keen on maintaining high credit score know the importance of a credit report. Having a very detailed credit report is the first step towards ensuring your credit score remains high.

Getting a detailed report from any of the bureaus may cost you some money. If you are really serious about keeping a check on your report, then you would know you need a real report and won’t find it difficult to spare $20 to get a very detailed report.

After getting a detailed report, you should continue in that same vein by going through the report with a fine comb and identifying EVERY wrong entry no matter how small. Every entry that is incorrect should and must be corrected for the sake of your credit score. NEVER over look anything.

Now you have all the wrong entries you have found and are ready to dispute. One important thing to bear in mind is that your letter MUST be concise because the bureaus have a huge amount of letters to treat so they do not need long letters as any such letter stands a risk of not being processed.

One big problem you may face is using the right identifying information for a given bureau as different bureaus have different identifiers. Send the right information to the right bureau.

Another sad truth here is that many people have tried to dispute without success and have had to repeat a number of times. Your letter may not even be processed so you should be ready and willing to keep sending.

Disputing a credit report, removing a judgment or generally repairing your credit does not have to be such a drag or a mission impossible. You can engage the services of professionals to take the burden off you while achieving results you may never be able to achieve on your own. Save yourself the heartache and disappointment of having you credit bureau dispute letter rejected or not processed by allowing professional handle it for you.

Dana

Hector Milla asked:




There are a number of significant details contained in a credit report that detail an individual’s personal and professional spending history, and affect how lending institutions view him as a potential loan candidate. The 3 digit number also known as a FICO score is the basis for rating consumers everywhere and is available from the credit reporting institutions by a lending firm interested in finding out about a candidates credit status. This very important number is the basis for any type of credit in the marketplace; including credit card applications and new car loans.

A consumer can obtain his credit report from the 3 reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) once per year for free. This is available by written request and should be accessed and evaluated to determine whether the best possible interest rate is being offered by banks and other lenders. There is also built in protection from identity theft which is becoming more prevalent with a weak economy.

There are also credit check programs available to consumers. These are designed to help obtain a copy of the credit report from any or all of the reporting organizations. Each of the major bureaus has a separate website and a toll free contact number as well. A credit report can be requested individually from each reporting company, or all at the same time.

The 100% free credit report does not include the credit score, because that is a separate paid item. However, a credit report is supplied for free when a paid credit score is purchased. It is imperative to include the correct contact information in order to receive this document in a timely fashion. Failure to do so can result in the risk of a delay in this process and possibly bad information as well.

It will take on average 15 days for the bureau to access a person’s data and mail a copy of the report. This is a great way for a person with a low credit score to raise his number. Once the report has arrived, it should be inspected quite thoroughly and evaluated for mistakes, with follow up to the bureau to get rid of invalid or incorrect entries that are listed.

Any invalid entries or line items can be removed from the record through a dispute letter. By doing this once per year, a consumer can keep his record clean and most likely raise that number a little bit as well.

Beverly

Hector Milla asked:




Collection accounts are usually seriously past due accounts that have been transferred to an attorney or a collection agency. These collection accounts can remain on your credit report for seven years from the date of the first missed payment. These collections accounts have a negative impact on your credit report and will hurt your chances of getting a loan or additional credit.

A study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found that 79% of consumer credit reports contained an error or mistake. It is possible that you may have a collection account on your credit score by mistake. Checking your report from the credit bureaus on a regular basis is one of the best things you can do for your financial health. If you spot a collection account that appears to be listed on your report in error, you need to dispute it immediately. If the credit bureau cannot prove or verify the collection account, it will be removed from your file. You can challenge any negative item on your report at any time; if the item cannot be verified in a specified amount of time, it will be deleted.

If a collection item on your credit report is valid, you can attempt to negotiate with the creditor. If the amount is small and you have the available funds, the best thing to do is to pay the full amount. If the amount is large, you can trying paying a percentage of the total and see if the collection agency will accept this to settle the account. If you debts are excessive, you may need to look for the services of a debt settlement company.

If you decide to utilize the services of a debt settlement company, make certain to do your due diligence on any company you are considering. You should check to see if they are accredited by the Association of Settlement Companies (TASC). Find out all costs and fees before entering into any agreement with a company as they can often be more than some people can afford. You need to realize that once you begin a debt settlement program, your credit score will most likely go down before it improves. Checking the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against a particular business is also advisable. If there are complaints you should take a few moments to see if they were resolved in a manner satisfactory to the consumer. Following these steps will help you make an informed choice before starting the debt settlement process to fix your credit report.

Excessive debt is a problem for millions of people today. If you are worried about your credit score, your initial task should be to obtain copies of your credit reports. Write to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, or try freecreditreport.com, credit report.com, or freecreditreport360.com to obtain copies of your credit report. Knowing what appears on your this report is essential to staying financially healthy in today’s world.

Ann

Delia Galley asked:




The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to provide you with one free credit report every 12 months per your request. This means that you are entitled to three free credit reports per year, if you deem it necessary. You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the same time.

Each of the National Consumer Credit Reporting bureaus have a unique credit report format, but in essence they provide you with the same information. When you receive your free Equifax credit report use the following guidelines to read your report:

Personal Information

This section will detail your personal information: Name, Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, any former names, death notice information, current address, previous addresses, any other identification numbers that you may have, current employer and previous employers.

You will also find information about any fraud alerts that you may have against your credit report.

Account Information Summary

You’ll find a list of all your accounts here. Additional information will include account type, account number, date account was opened, account balance, any past due amount, account status and credit limit.

Inquiries

Any inquiries against your credit file will be listed in this section. This section is divided into two subcategories: (a) Inquiries that display to companies and may impact your credit score. (b) Inquiries that do not display to companies and do not impact your credit score.

“Inquiries that display to companies and may impact your credit score”
These are inquiries by potential creditors who are assessing whether to extend you a line of credit or not. Your credit score will be minimally affected and therefore these inquiries should not be of major concern, unless there are some red flags. The name of the company that requested the information and the date they requested it will be listed.

“Inquiries that do not display to companies and do not impact your credit score”
Unlike the previous inquiries – these do not “hurt” your credit score. They include inquiries for pre-approved credit lines, insurance, or account reviews by existing creditors. The name of the company that requested the information, the date they requested it and the type of inquiry will be listed.

Collections

Any accounts that have gone to collections will be listed here along with the name of the creditor, date reported, creditor type, your account number, original amount, dates of delinquency, outstanding balance and status information.

Public Records

Bankruptcies, liens or judgments information from federal, state or county court records will be listed here. Each public record will indicate the type of record, case number, amount in default and any relevant information associated with that particular case.

You may also find the following credit report terms helpful:
CURR ACCT – Account is current in payments and in good standing.

CUR WAS 30-2 – Account is current was 30 days late twice.

PAID – Account has been paid off and has a $0 balance and is inactive.

CHARGEOFF – Unpaid balance on account was reported as a loss by creditor and the creditor is no longer seeking reimbursement.

COLLECT – Account is severely delinquent and assigned to collections.

FORECLOS – Property was foreclosed.

BKLIQREQ – Debt was forgiven due to Chapter 7, 11 or 13.

DELINQ 60 – Account is 60 days delinquent.

INACTIVE – Account is inactive.

Sample Equifax credit report


George