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Credit
reports now free for all
By
Amy Fleitas
• Bankrate.com
It's
here. All Americans are
now entitled to receive
free credit reports each
year.
Thanks to
the 2003 Fair and
Accurate Credit
Transactions Act, every
American has the right
to a free copy of this
important consumer
document every year from
each of the three major
credit bureaus --
Equifax, Experian and
TransUnion. The agencies
have been phasing in the
free reports region by
region, with the
northeastern states
finally getting their
turn Sept. 1.
The law
will now apply to:
Connecticut, Delaware,
Maine, New Hampshire,
New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Virginia
and West Virginia,
including the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico
and all U.S.
territories.
Thanks to
state laws, the
residents of
Massachusetts, Maryland,
New Jersey and Vermont
were already able to get
free credit reports.
How to
get your report
The reports will not
automatically be sent
out. Consumers must
request their reports in
one of these three ways:
-
Go to
www.annualcreditreport.com,
which is the only
authorized source
for consumers to
access their annual
credit report online
for free.
-
Call
toll free
877-322-8228.
-
Complete the
form
on the back of the
"Annual Credit
Report Request"
brochure, available
from the
FTC,
and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report
Request Service,
P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA
30348-5281.
You'll be
able to order all three
credit reports at one
time, or you may order
at different times
throughout the year.
It's your choice. Be
sure to order from the
centralized agency. If
you go directly to the
credit reporting
agencies, you will be
charged a fee unless you
fit another criteria for
a free report. And
beware of ordering your
free credit reports from
fraudulent, deceptive
and misspelled domains
that will charge for the
very same service you
can get free.
The new
ruling doesn't replace
the other ways to
receive a free credit
report. You're still
entitled to a free
credit report if: you've
been denied a loan,
insurance policy or job
based on your credit
report; you're applying
for unemployment or
receive public
assistance; or you
currently reside in a
state that already
offers one or more
annual free credit
reports.
A credit
report contains a
consumer's history of
loan payments, including
those for mortgages,
credit cards and auto
loans. It is used by
lenders to judge whether
to grant additional
credit to consumers, and
at what rate. It is not
the same as a credit
score, which takes the
information contained in
a credit report and
distills it into a
three-number score.
Credit scores are not
included in the credit
report, and must be
purchased from the
credit bureaus.
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