As of Jan 1, 2004, due to the new FCRA Act of 2003, all credit bureaus will be required to give out one free credit report per year. However, they are not required to give out your credit score for free. Most bureaus will charge you $12.95 if you want your score included.

This information changes all of the time, but is current as of Dec 2005. If the numbers have changed again, you can call toll-free information at 800-555-1212 to get the current phone number. Also, here is a list which is updated constantly that has tricks for getting a live human on the phone:

It's a good idea to include all of the above information whenever you correspond with the credit bureaus. And do remember to sign your request. You should provide: full name birth date Social Security number current address former addresses in last 5 years photocopy of driving license, showing current address photocopy of Social Security card

Whenever you or anyone else asks for a copy of your credit report, the request is supposed to be noted as part of your credit history. If you apply for lots of credit cards in a short time, this will produce a flurry of "inquiry" notes on your credit report. Lenders often turn this around and assume that a flurry of inquiries means you've recently applied for lots of credit, so they turn you down on that basis even though the inference is not strictly valid.

Profit and loss charge offs are used most often by credit card companies. They write the debt off on their books as uncollectable rather than spending time and lawyer's fees to collect them. Charge offs are considered a serious black mark on your credit report. Only bankruptcy and foreclosure are worse.

Under current law, the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) says we can sue credit bureaus but not the furnishers. However, a Catch-22 situation arises from a legal loophole in the system: it is the furnishers that provide and report the inaccurate information. The Credit Bureaus blame the banks and the banks blame the credit bureaus and the consumers are put in the position of having to prove their innocence and defend their damaged reputations.

It's obvious, isn't it? You haven't paid your bills. However, we get so many questions about this, that we decided to post a whole page on the subject. It's not a rule set in stone but, typically, credit card debts may be turned over to a collection agency after 180 days after the debt is owed. In the case of medical collections, some hospitals - especially for people who don't have any insurance - turn medical bills over for collections immediately.

This is the form EQ sends out for EVERY investigation, not just some of them. TU and EX send out forms that look basically the same. Case law has borne out that this method of investigation is not sufficient. In Cushman vs. Trans Union, Stevenson v. TRW (Experian), and Richardson vs. Fleet, Equifax, et al, the courts ruled each and every time that the CRA couldn't merely "parrot" information from the creditors and collection agencies. They must conduct an independent REASONABLE investigation to ensure the validity of the debt and the honesty/integrity of the creditor/CA in question. This is not regarded by the courts as a reasonable investigation.

This particularly happens during the dispute of inquiries, which some credit bureaus tell you they cannot investigate. That is pure nonsense. Unfortunately, this also happens when they designate a dispute as "frivolous".

I received this letter and thought it would make a good topic. I saw on a message board that it is illegal under the FCRA for the bureaus to report accounts on your report for which you are an "authorized user." I am on my brother's two Capital One accounts as an AU and he has been delinquent on this account. They are refusing to take it off my report. Could you send me the section of the FCRA stating that this is illegal/and or post to the site? According to section 603 of the FCRA, the way I interpret it, only information on credit issued to a consumer is allowed. If you are an authorized user, you do not fall under these categories, you are not responsible for the debt and did not receive credit. An authorized user doesn't have credit on this account and it's only the signor that is responsible. So, in essence, if an account on which you are an authorized user shows up on your report, it would be someone else's credit (the signor on the account.) I've had lots of readers successfully challenge this to both the creditors and the bureaus, and have accounts in which they were authorized users removed.