Let’s Look at the Issues
One of the most common questions the Union and our Benefit Funds office receive concerns how members may obtain their credit reports. We’ll tell you here how to obtain your credit reports free of charge and we recommend that you save this information for future reference.
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. The FCRA also promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. In short, the law is also designed to ensure that the information that the credit agencies are reporting is accurate.
You should also know that a credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and other items, like whether you have filed for bankruptcy, or have been sued or arrested. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, mortgages, employment, renting a home, etc.
How do you obtain your free credit report? As a result of the Fair Reporting Act the three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website and a toll-free telephone number through which you can order your free annual report. To order your free credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. You will need to provide your name, address, social security number, and date of birth to verify your identity. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.
It is important to remember that annualcreditreport.com is the only website that is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to receive under federal law. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In most cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some websites or telephone solicitors sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one that you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card. Some imposter websites and telephone solicitors even use terms like “free report” in their names, but the services they provide are not free.
Everyone should also remember that annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer reporting companies will never send you an e-mail asking for your personal information. If you get an e-mail, see an ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com, do not reply or click on any link in the message. It’s probably a scam
Your credit report has information that affects whether you can get a loan and how much you will have to pay to borrow money. You want a copy of your credit report to make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, or apply for a job. But you also want a copy of your credit report to help guard against identity theft, which has become one of the leading sources of crime in the U.S. Identity theft is when someone uses your personal information—like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.
If you request your report online at annualcreditreport.com, you should be able to access it immediately. If you order your report by calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228, your report will be processed and mailed to you within 15 days.
If you follow the instructions in this column you will be able to obtain your credit report free of charge. Then, if you find errors or omissions in the report you should contact the credit reporting firm immediately.
