Home > Identity Theft > FCRA To Obtain Free Credit Report And Protect Identity Theft
FCRA To Obtain Free Credit Report And Protect Identity Theft |
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If your free credit report contains
inaccuracies, it will negatively impact your credit score and consequently you might be turned down for credit cards, mortgages, student loans, other important loans and employment and housing opportunities. As such you have the right to view your free credit report and check the same for any inaccurate information so that you can dispute any such inaccuracy and have it removed from your free credit report. To protect the rights of consumers and regulate the practices of those who provide information to the credit reporting agencies, the agencies themselves and credit report users, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted in 1970. The FCRA states that a consumer can make a legal claim against, and sue the credit reporting agencies, creditors and debt collectors who report information that is wrong. The credit reporting agencies offer a free case review and if your free credit report is wrong through no fault of your own, they will ensure that the free credit report is corrected in a timely manner or they will pursue a claim against those who fail to comply with the FCRA. A new law, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), has been introduced so that consumers can order a copy of their free credit report and although it has already been introduced in Western and Midwestern states, it will be extended to all U.S. consumers by September 1, 2005. This law allows consumers to keep track of their credit which is your most valuable asset. You will have more options to borrow money at the lowest cost and from the best lenders if you have good credit, which also means that landlords, insurance companies, or even prospective employers will not hesitate to rent you premises, offer lower insurance premiums or offer jobs, as the case may be. Viewing your free credit report and knowing your credit score enables you to know your standing in the credit world and know what your creditors or those who base decisions on your credit will see. You can also discover mistakes and have them corrected and you will also know if someone has stolen your identity. If you smell a fraud, there are two types of fraud alerts that you can file by contacting the consumer credit reporting agencies. There is no federal law applying to fraud alerts filed before December 1, 2004. Starting December 1, 2004, the extended fraud alerts must be heeded. On suspecting fraud, you can request an initial fraud alert that will last for 90 days. The consumer credit reporting agency will include the alert in your file and provide the alert along with any credit score generated using your file but they are not required to call you to authorize new loans or activity related to your credit. The consumer credit reporting agency must tell you about your right to receive one copy of your free credit report when you file an initial alert within 3 business days of your request. If identity theft has already victimized you, you can get your free credit report and you can file a more serious alert called an extended alert with the consumer credit reporting agencies, which will have to provide more protections such as including the alert in your consumer file and providing the alert along with any credit score generated by that file during a 7 year period from the date of your requests, unless you ask them to remove the alert sooner and they must exclude you from any consumer lists it prepares and give to any third party to offer credit or insurance for 5 years from the date you initiate an extended alert and they must notify the other nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies that you have filed an extended fraud alert. They must also tell you that you may request up to 2 free copies of your file during the 12-month period beginning on the date on which they included the extended fraud alert in your file. Get a copy of your free credit report and protect yourself from identity theft. |
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