admin on June 23rd, 2008
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There are a few different credit report sites in the vein of www.freecreditreport.com and www.truecredit.com that offer what they advertise as free access to see your credit reports. The truth is the access is not free as much as it may seem at first glance. You, as a user on their sites, will actually have to register with the site and submit your own personal credit card information at the start of your free trial session. If you do not cancel within a certain amount of time, you will get charged for the use of the site. Even though some of these sites are going so far as to put ‘free’ in their domain name, they aren’t really free if you use them for more than 7 days or so.
Whether or not you see this as a scam is in the eye of the beholder. Some people may not have a problem with supplying their credit card information, even if they do so just to use the site for a supposedly free trial. Other people may not want to give out their information. Some people don’t want to give away the information because it is private and they may question the security of web sites in general, but other people are concerned that they may not cancel their trial in time. Some people may inadvertently end up paying for one month (or more!) of the ‘free’ credit report site if they do not pay strict attention to their trial period. Even being just a little bit late to cancel means that you are late and you will have to pay.
Some sites are easier to cancel than others, which can add to the stress of these sites. In some cases, people can simply send an email in order to cancel their membership. Other sites require their customers to call in order to cancel the subscription. These credit report sites may not be attractive to people who don’t feel they need to know their credit status on a consistent basis; for those who do, such sites can save them time and money!
The Federal Trade Commission has made information available on their website which advises that consumers are due a free annual credit report from the three major credit bureaus. This true free credit report site can be found at www.annualcreditreport.com. Keep in mind – the report is only free once every twelve months. If you need your credit report to glance at occasionally just to make sure everything is in order, this is a great option.
admin on May 4th, 2008
It may seem like a long shot, but I’ve always believed in the rule that if you don’t ask, you’ll never receive. Sending a letter won’t cost you a lot of money and you may just get someone on a good day where they are willing to help you out. So how do you approach a creditor and ask them to remove a debt that is being reported accurately?
Dear CEO name,
I am writing you to discuss my credit card account #xxx which was established x years ago. I am writing to ask you to consider removing this account from my credit report. I understand this is an unusual request, but the Fair Credit Reporting Act does now say you must report all credit accounts to the credit bureaus.
When I established the account I was financially secure, and I certainly understand that it was my responsibility to stay current on payments. Unfortunately I made several financial mistakes and fell behind. When I was able to, I paid off the debt in full on xxxx. I am hoping that after you review my circumstances and the fact that I have paid off the debt, you would be willing to remove the negative remarks with the three credit bureaus.
I an not saying the information is inaccurate, I am simply asking you to use your discretion to remove the account from my credit report in an act of goodwill. I appreciate your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Your Name
admin on May 4th, 2008
Your credit report and credit score are pretty important in everyday life. Day by day, it’s getting more important. Your rates for everything from health insurance, car insurance, to utility bill deposits, and your chance at a new job are affected by your credit history. Whether or not you believe this is fair, and I for one don’t, you do need to know the rules so you can be aware of any discrepancies on your credit report.
Typically, accurate negative information can be reported on your credit report for seven years. This seven years begins from 180 days after the debt is FIRST reported as delinquent. Some companies will start the time over if you make a payment on a delinquent debt, but this is against the Fair Credit Reporting Act and you can have it removed from your credit report.
There are exceptions to the seven year rule however. Bankruptcy can be reported on your credit report for up to 10 years, and information reported due to an application for a job with a salary of more than $20,000 or an application for more than $50,000 worth of credit or life insurance has NO time limit.
Tax liens can stay on for 7 years, but from the date the tax is actually paid, rather than from when you defaulted. A lawsuit or judgment that is granted against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out. If you have defaulted on student loans that are guaranteed or insured by the U.S. Government they can be reported for seven years after certain actions.
The section of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that covers consumer reports is 605, which states as follows:
§ 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681c]
(a) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:
(1) Cases under title 11 [United States Code] or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years.
(2) Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.
(3) Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years.
(4) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years.(1)
(5) Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.1
(b) Exempted cases. The provisions of subsection (a) of this section are not applicable in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in connection with
(1) a credit transaction involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of $150,000 or more;
(2) the underwriting of life insurance involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of $150,000 or more; or
(3) the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more.
(c) Running of reporting period.
(1) In general. The 7-year period referred to in paragraphs (4) and (6) of subsection (a) shall begin, with respect to any delinquent account that is placed for collection (internally or by referral to a third party, whichever is earlier), charged to profit and loss, or subjected to any similar action, upon the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the commencement of the delinquency which immediately preceded the collection activity, charge to profit and loss, or similar action.
(2) Effective date. Paragraph (1) shall apply only to items of information added to the file of a consumer on or after the date that is 455 days after the date of enactment of the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996.
