Posts Tagged ‘Federal Trade Commission’

How to Get a Bank Account with Bad Credit History

Patsy Rose asked:




When you have bad credit, it seems that nothing is easy. Questions about how to get a credit card, how to get a bank account with bad credit history and where to get a free instant credit report are frequently asked. Many people are interested in learning how to repair their bad credit as well. It may be wise to make efforts to repair your credit before you worry about how to get a bank account with bad credit history.

It is quite possible that if you have been denied a bank account by one bank, another may allow you to open an account. All banks have different policies, so shop around first. If you really need someplace to keep your money, you can get a prepaid credit card, no matter what your credit history is like. If you want to know what information is stored on your credit report, you can get a free instant credit report.

It is wise to check the information on your credit report at least once a year. Due to a recently enacted law, a free instant credit report is now available on line. The three major credit bureaus created one website, http://www.annualcreditreport.com, to allow consumers easier access to their free instant credit report. Each consumer is entitled to one every year. If you are trying to learn how to get a bank account with bad credit history, then you have probably either been denied an account or denied credit. If you have been denied credit then you are entitled to a free instant credit report within 60 days of the credit denial. The lender must tell you why you were denied credit, in specific terms. If you were denied because of information on you credit report, he must furnish you with the name and address of the credit bureau that he used.

Some companies that advertise a free instant credit report have similar website addresses. Some companies offer a free instant credit report, if you sign up for their credit monitoring, credit repair information or services. The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers to spell the website address correctly or link to it from the FTC official website to avoid the impostor sites.

If you are trying to learn how to get a bank account with bad credit history and you have a record of bouncing checks, you may want to open only a savings account. Instead of writing checks to pay your bills, you can use money orders. Most banks will give you an ATM to use for cash withdrawals. You will probably not be able to get a debit card. Debit cards are generally linked to one’s checking account. If your balance is large enough, some banks offer a secured credit card. The credit limit is determined by the balance in the savings account. Some of the prepaid credit cards offer on-line bill pay and free direct deposit. This may be a good temporary solution for someone interested in how to get a bank account with bad credit history.

It may be possible to learn how to get a bank account with bad credit history. It is definitely possible to learn how to repair bad credit. Some companies that offer prepaid and secured credit cards charge a fee to report account activity to the credit bureaus. Before you pay a company to report good credit history, get a free instant credit report. If you have problems that you do not know how to correct, contact a law firm that specializes in credit repair. For more information, visit Credit Fix Solutions.

Carolyn
 

FREE Instant Credit Report

Zach Ford asked:




Everyone should understand their credit report and apply for a free instant credit report online. Items contained there are the most important determining factors for a loan, getting an apartment, obtaining a good credit card, and much more. The credit score you have will tell your potential lenders information about how you handle your financial business.

Credit reports are what all lending companies and banks use to decide whether an applicant is worthy of a loan from them. Applicants who have a history of not paying their debts on time will most likely repeat the scenario if they are given another loan. This makes applicants undesirable to lenders. The higher your credit score is and the better your credit report is, gives you the opportunity to be able to borrow at a lower interest rate.

Previously it would take days to get a copy of your credit report to view it for errors and other mistakes. But today, with advances in technology, it is easy for anyone to get their hands on a copy of their credit report within minutes, not days as before.

The United States Federal Trade Commission requires the big three in credit reporting agencies to provide you once a year, with a free copy of your credit report. You can contact Equifax, TransUnion or Experian to receive your annual free copy.

If you need more assistance, there are many helpful online sites that will guide you through the process of obtaining your credit report. Many of these same business online will even help you to improve your credit score, if need be.

In your credit report, you will also see the list of companies who have inquired about your credit so that you can make sure they are all legitimate inquiries. Another benefit is verifying that you haven’t fell a victim to identity theft or fraud of any kind. Fraudulent activity in your credit report can affect your chances of qualifying for a loan or getting a good credit card. Also out of date information contained in your credit report should be reported for removal.

Nellie
 

Free Credit Report

Zach Ford asked:




Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, the three big credit reporting bureaus, must provide you the consumer with a free copy of your credit report at least once a year. This means that a free credit report is yours once a year, all you have to do is request it. With today’s technologies, it has never been easier to view a free copy of your credit report from all three of the major credit bureaus. What better way to stay on top of your financial goals?

Know what’s in your credit report! There is no charge!

Yes, it’s free to check your credit report. Do you know what’s in yours? If you know what’s located in your free credit report, it will save you time when shopping for a loan or a lease, and money too. Even if you have never dealt with having bad credit, you still need to know what is in your report and check it annually for errors. Errors can damage your financial health and cause a bad relationship between you and your financial lenders.

You can obtain a copy from all three credit reporting bureaus by visiting http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Of course, you can go to their websites individually if you wish, Experian is http://www.experian.com Equifax is http://www.equifax.com and TransUnion is http://www.transunion.com. Be warned that they will ask you to sign up for account with them and offer other services to you. All three can also be contacted through regular USPS mail. The best way to contact all three of them at the same time without being slammed with offers of services they offer is to obtain your free credit report through [http://www.AnualCreditReport.com].

Betty
 

Free Credit Report – Really

George Burk asked:




2005 marks the year that consumers will be able to get a free credit report each year. The roll out of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act signed into law by President Bush actually began last December 1. If you didn’t know about it, don’t worry. You haven’t missed the boat. Not everyone is eligible to get their credit report. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is allowing the credit bureau’s to implement the program piecemeal so as not to overload the new credit report system. Millions of consumers are expected to take advantage of the free reports.

Last December, consumers from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming were able to take advantage of the free credit report. Next March, the Midwest will have access to free credit reports. The South has to wait till June, and the East must wait until September 2005.

After your eligible, you can request you free credit report from a web site, by calling a toll free number, or by requesting it in writing. The web site address is AnnualCreditReport.com. This website was created by the credit bureaus. The toll free number is (877)-322-8228, which is also (877)-FTC-HELP if that’s easier to remember. The address to write to is Annual Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA., 30348-5281. You will not be asked to sign up for a trial subscription for a credit monitoring service after requesting your credit report.

Your not limited to one free credit report a year. You can request three – one from each of the credit bureaus: Exper

 

Free Annual Credit Report

Michael Killian asked:




Would FREE copies your credit report be of interest? If you are committed to repairing your credit or simply want to know what is on your credit report, I have good news for you. A free copy of your credit report is available to every consumer annually. This article discusses the free report as well as repairing your credit report once you have your credit file on hand.

Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont always had a right to one free report per bureau each year. But now this same benefit is available in every state – one FREE credit report from each of the three major national credit bureaus every 12 months.

Additionally, consumers may be entitled to a free report under certain other conditions, such as having been denied credit, insurance or a job within the past 60 days. You’re also entitled to a free report if you think your report is inaccurate due to fraud.

But under the new law, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have an online site where you can get a free report at Annual Credit Report. There is also a toll-free phone number: 877-322-8228. Finally you can write to P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Yahoo News suggests: “If you do use the postal address, it’s best to print and mail in a completed online request form. You can’t get your report unless you answer questions on the form.” There is also information available through Federal Trade Commission.

Once you have your report, what do you look for?

Here are some basic things you should check on your report. Go through your entire report entry by entry. Have the credit agency legend by your side in order to verify coding compliance. Have also a paper and pencil to annotate any item you find in error. Go slowly!

Don’t assume your personal information is correct. You could be viewing
information from someone else’s report with just a simple error such as: first name misspelled, missing Jr./Sr., erroneous address, bad zip code, wrong employer, or any other incorrect personal data.

Insure marital information is correct. Are accounts listed as “joint” really joint?

Is the report in compliance with court settlements? Outdated information is
normally considered to be any item older than 7 years except for bankruptcy, which is usually 10 years.

Closed accounts should not be listed as open. Accounts you closed should
reflect, “Closed by consumer”. Otherwise it can be assumed that it was closed by the creditor– not good.

Accounts should not appear twice even in different sections.

Incorrect histories such as late payments, a credit entry you do not recognize, a pre-marital debt of your
current spouse, or other such items need your attention.

Are there missing reports that would be beneficial to show a good history, and are profiles, credit limits, and balances correct?

A former correction to your credit file that has since disappeared should be brought to the agency’s attention.

You might want to note that each bureau offers credit ID fraud called safeguard services, but for fees. For example TransUnion offers “ID Fraud Watch”. For $10.95 each quarter, you get a credit report every three months and $25,000 of identity theft insurance.

____________________________________

Additionally you can purchase a credit score for a fee by contacting one of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion

You can also purchase a credit score when you request your free annual credit report through Annual Credit Report

Readers will probably be interested to know Mike, the author of this article, also offers a free debt elimination mini-course via e-mail. You can enroll at Debt Free In 7.5 Years.

____________________________________

Final Comments: One final point which I am often asked. If a collection company sells your account to another collection agency, can you get the first one get deleted, or will it just show as a zero balance

Reporting depends on who owns the account there are several directions this can take:

If the original creditor still owns the account but assigns the debt to a collection company then both get to report on that account listing.

If the original creditor retracts the collection and re-assigns it to a new collection agency then both original creditor and the 2nd collection agency can report but the first one must remove their listing off of the credit report.

If the original creditor sells the debt to a collection agency then the creditor will report zero balance / sold to another lender, and the collection agency will report.

If that collection agency assigns a debt to another collection agency then it is allowable for both to report the account listing, but if they take back that account then that assigned collection agency must remove their reporting.

Now if that collection agency sells the debt to another collection agency they get to keep their reporting on the report since they owned the account at one time, and the new collection agency picks up on the reporting.

So the difference is if your account is assigned or sold.

Florence
 

Tips On Obtaining A Free Copy of My Credit Report

Tim Gorman asked:




The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACT) give all individuals the opportunity to receive a free credit report. Generally, you can request a free credit report once per year. These reports are requested from the three major credit bureaus who report on all activity regarding credit. The intentions of the Acts are to allow the consumer to check the accuracy as well as the privacy of his or her credit report. This is underlined by the fact that FCRA and FACT are enforced with regard to consumer reporting companies by the Federal Trade Commission which is the main consumer protection agency in United States.

A credit report contains data regarding the consumer’s personal contact information, bankruptcy, as well as his or her very detailed credit history details. It is regularly used to evaluate his or her credit worthiness by not only financial institutions offering credit but by employers and others. As such it is important to make sure that the consumer has a right to check the credit report in order to correct any errors or unfair information contained there. This also prevents anyone else from using your identity to commit fraud since such activity will become apparent when you check the report.

You can request the free annual copy of your credit report from the website set up by the three main credit bureaus, namely Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. All three have set up a toll free telephone number and a mailing address to meet the requests from consumers. Contacting the credit bureaus directly will not be fruitful since they will direct you to the website referred above. However you can request the free annual copy from each of the three bureaus separately at different times as long as you request only one copy for 12 months from each bureau.

Once you have filled the form on the website you will be able to see the credit report almost immediately. Using the toll free number or mailing address will get you the report within 15 days of request. However you should have the information needed to verify your identity if the credit bureau requests.

Other methods to get a free credit report

In addition to the entitlement mentioned above .You are entitled to obtain a free credit report if you are denied credit, insurance, or employment due to the contents of the credit report. However you should request the report within 60 days of notice of such denial. Unemployed individuals looking for work, those who are on welfare, and those who have been victims of frauds or identity theft, can also request a free copy of the credit report. It must also be remembered that residents of States of Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont, have access to annual credit reports free of charge for some time through State laws.

Manuel