CRAs make money selling the information they have in their databank, including information about your credit portfolio.

Because of this, it is only prudent that you exercise your legal rights as a consumer, know what is in your credit file, make sure they are accurate. Challenge errors and have any corrected when necessary.

CRAs are required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act to tell you the contents of your file. There are several ways to contact a CRA:

• If Declined for a Loan,
call the lender who is required by the FCRA to give you the name address and phone number of the CRA it used in evaluating your loan application.

• If You're Just Curious,
you can find out the contents of your file by calling the CRA nearest you. They are usually listed in the phonebook under Credit Reporting Agencies.

• If You're Report Contains Inaccurate Information,
you may challenge the inclusion of it in your file. One option: If a lender has made an error, point it out to the lender and request that corrected information be sent to the CRA.

Your Credit Report?
Some financial advisors suggest that you periodically review your credit report for inaccuracies or omissions. This could be especially important if you considering making a major purchase, such as buying a home. Checking in advance on the accuracy of information in your credit file could speed the credit-granting process.

You're entitled to one free copy of your report a year if you certify in writing that;

• You are unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days,

• You are on welfare, or

• Your report is inaccurate because of fraud.

Otherwise a CRA may charge you up to $8.50 for a copy of your report.

To get your credit report, you must provide the following information to Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax:

• Full name, including any maiden name

• Spouse's name (if appropriate)

• Current address

• Previous address (if needed for 5 year history)

• Social Security Number

• Date of birth

• Signature

If you have been denied credit because of derogatory information in your file, you may ask what credit bureau supplied your credit history and obtain your credit report free within 60 days.

• Experian charges $8.50; except for residents of some states; call 1-888-397-3742

• Equifax charges $8.50; except for residents of some states; call 1-800-685-1111

• TransUnion charges $8.50; except for residents of some states; call 1-800-888-4213

What Do you Do if There is Negative or Incorrect Information?

Correcting Errors

Under the FCRA, both the CRA and the organization that provided the information to the CRA, such as a bank or credit card company, have responsibilities for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To protect all your rights under the law, contact both the CRA and the information provider.

First, tell the CRA in writing what information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete information.

In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your report you dispute, state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request deletion or correction. You may want to enclose a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Your letter may look something like the sample. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the CRA received. Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures. CRAs must reinvestigate the items in question – usually within 30 days – unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you provide about the dispute to the information provider. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the CRA, it must investigate, review all relevant information provided by the CRA, and report the results to the CRA. If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide CRAs so they can correct this information in your file. All disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file.

• If your report contains erroneous information, the CRA must correct it.

• If an item is incomplete, the CRA must complete it. For example, if your file showed that you were late making payments, but failed to show that you were no longer delinquent, the CRA must show that you're current.

• If your file shows an account that belongs only to another person, the CRA must delete it.

When the reinvestigation is complete, the CRA must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. If an item is changed or removed, the CRA cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies its accuracy and completeness, and the CRA gives you a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the provider.

• Also, if you request, the CRA must send notices of corrections to anyone who received your report in the past six months. Job applicants can have a corrected copy of their report sent to anyone who received a copy during the past two years for employment purposes.

• If a reinvestigation does not resolve your dispute, ask the CRA to include your statement of the dispute in your file and in future reports.

Second, in addition to writing to the CRA, tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Again, include copies (NOT originals) of documents that support your position. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider then reports the item to any CRA, it must include a notice of your dispute.

• In addition , if you are correct-that is, if the disputed information is not accurate-the information provider may not use it again.

If the negative information is true, you can:

• Pay any balances so that creditors can update file.

• Wait the required length of time to lapse for negative information to be taken off.

• Write an explanatory statement (100 words or less) to be included in future reports. While the law limits this statement to disputes, most credit bureaus will include explanations, such as unemployment.

Credit bureaus must automatically delete derogatory information which is more than seven years old, with the exception that bankruptcy declarations are deleted only after ten years.

Negative information in your report, when accurate, will only be removed with the passage of time. Accurate negative information can generally stay on your report for seven years. There are certain exceptions:

• Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time limitation.

• Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years.

• Credit information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit.

• Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statue of limitations runs out, whichever is longer. Criminal convictions can be reported without any time limit.

Sample Dispute Letter

Adding Accounts to Your File
Your credit file may not reflect all your credit accounts. Although most national department store and all-purpose bank credit card accounts will be included in your file, not all creditors supply information to CRAs: Some travel, entertainment, gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit unions are among those creditors that don't. If you've been told you were denied credit because of an "insufficient credit file" or "no credit file" and you have accounts with creditors that don't appear in your credit file, ask the CRA to add this information to future reports. Although they are not required to do so, many CRAs will add verifiable accounts for a fee. You should, however, understand that if these creditors do not report to the CRA on a regular basis, these added items will not be updated in your file.

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The above Consumer Credit Information is provided by the Federal Trade Commission, Washington D.C.