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Home > Banking News > FTC Completes Rollout of Free Credit Reports Across Eastern States and All U.S. Territories
FTC Completes Rollout of Free Credit Reports Across Eastern States and All U.S. Territories
New, hard-won, consumer right to free credit reports for all U.S. residents has taken effect. Easterners and those in U.S. Territories and possessions gained access to their reports September 1st, 2005.
Lancaster, CA (PR Web) September 3, 2005 -- Residents of the eastern states and all U.S. territories joined the rest of the nation on September 1st, 2005 in obtaining easy access to their credit reports as allowed by federal law.
The people of Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. territories and possessions, and Puerto Rico were granted a right the FTC fought years for — the right for every US resident to have access to copies of their credit report for free every 12 months.
Consumers worried about identity theft, concerned about loan rejection, or simply curious about what their report says can go online to annualcreditreport.com. There, within 15 minutes they will be able to view or download their credit report, the document that defines their credit-worthiness, for once without being asked for a credit card.
The rollout of free credit report eligibility that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act mandated started with the western states in December 2004. There has since been a rush of orders as the rollout continued across the Midwestern and southern states, delaying credit report processing for the first few days of regional eligibility.
Many people are unfamiliar with the implications of the growing speed and ways in which their credit information is used. Some even question the urgency of staying on top of their personal credit reports.
Why the need for a current credit report?
* Errors on your credit report – “Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get a loan – and how much you will have to pay to borrow money,” states the Federal Trade Commission. That means that employers, insurers, mortgage lenders, car loan lenders, and landlords all use your credit report to decide whether to accept or reject you. “79 percent of the credit reports surveyed contained either serious errors or other mistakes of some kind,” states the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, who did a major study on the accuracy of credit reports. “Twenty-five percent (25 percent) of the credit reports surveyed contained serious errors that could result in the denial of credit, such as false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer.”
* Identity theft – Identity theft has become a rising problem in both the public and private sector. Consumers can become victims without even realizing it. Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada has put out a Public Advisory Special Report warning consumers, “One reason for the increase in identity theft may be that consumers often become victims of identity theft without having any direct contact with the identity thieves who acquire their personal data. Simply by doing things that are part of everyday routine -- charging dinner at a restaurant, using payment cards to purchase gasoline or rent a car, or submitting personal information to employers and various levels of government – consumers may be leaving or exposing their personal data where identity thieves can access and use it without the consumers' knowledge or permission.” Thieves gain personal credit information through theft of payment cards and documents, shoulder surfing, skimming, e-mail and website spoofing and theft from company or government databases.
The site annualcreditreport.com was set up specifically to handle requests for free credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, as mandated by the new law. Reports from each of the three credit bureaus vary because not all creditors report to each of the agencies. Consumers are advised to order their free credit reports from all three of these credit reporting agencies.
Because some consumers have been misled into signing up for costly ($79.95) credit monitoring services by alluring promises of free credit reports, the FTC recently penalized Experian $950,000 for using deceptive practices at the website freecreditreport.com. They have warned the public to stay away from ordering any services in exchange for free credit reports. Beware also of pop-up ads that claim to be from annualcreditreport.com or a soundalike website.
TransUnion, Experian and Equifax all charge fees from $9.50 on up to order additional credit reports, but some states have set caps on the fees these agencies are allowed to charge. Thanks to the FTC you are eligible to get free credit reports if:
- You have not already ordered a credit report in the previous 12 months
- A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report
- You are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file
- Your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud
- You are on public assistance
- You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days
Those who are concerned about their social security numbers getting into the wrong hands can order their free credit report by mail and request that their social security numbers be truncated on the report. When you go to order your credit report, have the following information handy:
- Name
- Address
- Social Security number
- Date of birth
- Your previous address(es), if you have moved in the last two years
The FTC championed several rights for consumers regarding their credit reports:
- You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information
- Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information, within 30 days
- Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information more than seven years old and bankruptcies more than ten years old
- Access to your file is limited to those specified by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and you must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers
- You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; you may seek damages from violators
- Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights.
Order your free credit report from annualcreditreport.com today. If you've done anything financial: given permission to an employer or landlord to run a credit check on you; applied for credit cards, a line of credit, a home equity loan, or mortgage; or you think you might do so in the next 6 months to a year, you are going to need it. You might also want to order your credit score, otherwise known as a FICO score. While it's not free, it is a useful bottom line number to know. It will be what a mortgage lender is looking at when they decide if you are a poor or good credit risk and what interest rate to offer you.
Since credit report disputes often take up to six months or more to resolve, the smart consumer should plan to thoroughly know his or her credit health months ahead of applying for a major loan. Now residents of any U.S. state or territory can get started with a credit report free of charge thanks to the FTC.
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