Posts Tagged ‘Financial Institutions’

Free Instant Annual Credit Report

Posted in Finance on 01/27/2011 04:19 am by
Christopher Wright asked:




Since late 2004 and early 2005, the three nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – began processing consumers’ requests for free annual credit reports at annualcreditreport(.com).

A credit report contains consumers’ identification information; payment history with different creditors; a list of inquiries made by various financial institutions; and information on the public record, such as foreclosures or bankruptcies. Consumer reporting companies collect and sell this information to lenders and other businesses that have a permissible purpose to obtain it.

The FTC has issued a new consumer education brochure, “Your Access to Free Credit Reports,” that explains why it is important for consumers to monitor their credit history, how to request a report, and how to dispute any errors. The report can be found by searching the FTC’s site for that title.

Keep in mind the source of this information. You can be sure that (when reading this) there won’t be any secrets techniques exposed that would give you an advantage over the bureaus during your credit restoration process. Learning some of these insider tactics requires a different thought process.

By law you are also entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied or turned down for credit. The company you applied for credit through must provide you with the name and contact information of the credit bureau they obtained your information from. You can then contact this credit bureau within 60 days using the information provided to obtain your free credit report. You may be able to fax a copy of your denial letter and get access to your credit files quicker than sending them via snail mail.

Franklin
 

Tips On Obtaining A Free Copy of My Credit Report

Posted in Finance on 08/04/2010 07:31 pm by
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
 

How to Get a Free Credit Report – Tips on Getting Your Credit Report For Free

Posted in Finance on 04/16/2010 01:15 am by
Davion Wong asked:




Your credit reports are one of the most important documents in your financial aspect; thus you should learn how to get a free credit report every year in order to build a very credible financial reputation. Credit reports are offered as a free service from three major reporting agencies. They are part of the government’s duties to the public in keeping every citizen updated on important documents about their own financial and credit records.

There are many ways to learn how to get a free credit report; and one of the easiest ways to do that is to request for it online by logging on to the website that will send you these financial documents upon request. Another method of sending your request is to contact the Federal Trade Commission and request for a printed copy of the request form which you need to fill it out and send them by mail to the annual credit report request services.

 

Credit Report and Score – Why Do Employers Look at Your Credit Report?

Posted in Finance on 04/14/2010 10:08 am by
Helen Hecker asked:




If you’re wondering “Why do employers look at your credit report?” I’m going to outline the reasons below. Of course it’s always good to maintain a good credit report and score if you possibly can. But there are times when it may affect your future employment. And you want to know this in advance so you’ll be prepared.

First of all most small businesses and small companies don’t do much in the way of background checks. A background check can include checking your credit report, credit score and history, verification of your identity and your criminal history. Some companies will only check your credit report or they may only check your criminal history.

If you apply for a job with the federal government, they will check all three of these in a background check more than likely.

Private businesses, small companies, large companies and the federal government will do a more thorough background check if you’re going to be involved in handling cash or valuables. This would include bank tellers and other bank employees, chief financial officers, controllers, anyone who works for a brokerage of any kind and financial institutions or financial-related businesses. Jewelry-related businesses will do very thorough checks because diamonds and rare gems can be easily concealed.

An employer cannot use bankruptcy as a reason not to hire you. Although they may tell you another reason, there is no way to know if it’s because of a bankruptcy unless they tell you this. But there is a federal law that says an employer cannot refuse to hire you or promote you or fire you because of a bankruptcy.

One of the main reasons an employer wants to see your credit report is they want to check your employment history and see if it matches and to verify your social security number. If you have applied for a credit card or loan there may be employment information and your future employer can double check this way.

Most employers know that your credit report and credit history are not going to be reliable factors to predict if you’re going to be stealing from them. So they will check your criminal history to see if you have bounced any checks. That is a more reliable way for them to evaluate you. They will also look for evictions, foreclosures, repossessions and collection agencies.

Your employer or future employer does need your permission to check your credit report. If they hire another company to do a background check that includes it, they have to get your written permission first.

If you’ve applied for a job and lied on your application about any recent criminal history or about your identity, experience or your education and your report and history indicates otherwise, you can count on not getting the job.

All of this is a good reason to check your report at least twice a year. That will give you time to correct any serious errors on it. These errors or bad marks may prevent you from getting a job and you may not know why.

You can get one copy of your personal, instant, online, free, annual credit report each year but a second one you may have to pay for unless you see a copy that has been ordered by someone you have given permission to when they are verifying your credit history.

If your credit problems, credit report and score and history are not very serious and fairly recent then most employers will overlook small marks on your report. Employers want good people and don’t want to eliminate you because of a late payment or two. So make sure to get your free report and check it now so you’ll know where you stand and clean up and fix your credit report soon. These are just a few of the reasons that answer the question “why do employers look at your credit report?”. There are other tips you’ll want to know before you apply for a job also.

Brittany