Consumer Credit Reports – equifax experian score

Reens asked:


I don’t make the best money right now, (46K) and I’m about 17K deep in credit card debt. Kinda scary to even write that. Anyway, I’m never late on anything, but with my house and car payments aside, I can’t seem to pay anything off. I’ll have a decent bonus at years end (between 6-8K) but I don’t want to count on it.

I’ve heard mixed reviews on financial advisor’s. Thoughts? I don’t want to do the Consumer Debt thing because I know how it looks on credit reports and I plan on moving in the next few years. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Sarah

Michelle asked:


I just looked at my credit report and saw that one of my Visa cards was closed without my permission. It had a pretty low credit line and has been paid off for quite some time, but I kept it open to increase my debt to available credit ratio. Is this legal and will it have any adverse affects on my credit score?

JESUS

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.

You can purchase additional reports and/or a credit score by contacting one of the 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 (referenced above.)

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.

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.

_________________________________

Final Comments: I am often asked if a collection company sells your account to another collection agency, can you get the first one deleted from your report 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.

Therefore, the difference is if your account is “assigned” or “sold”.

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.



FELIPE

Bob asked:


This contact letter is in regards to my consumer loan accounts -01 and -02. I just recently checked my credit report because I am in the market to purchase my first home in Lexington Park, Maryland, and I noticed some disturbing information. It seems that your company reported my on numerous occations for being 30 days late on each loan account. This information is false, and your company is in direct violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The reason these accounts were reported as late, according to your customer service, is this is the time that I requested a one month grace period because my mother died in September of 2004, and I had to pay for the funeral service. My father passed on a few months later in February of 2005. I notified all my creditors and told them of the situation and was given a payment plan. The extention from your company was granted from the Branch Manager in Brunswick, Maine. All the payments that I made after that were paying the previous month

DANE

majax79 asked:


Are the credit scores that I buy from the 3 main reporting agencies the same scored that would be reported to a company?

How can reporting agencies use different scoring systems and report different stuff in different places…or not at all?

How is this fair to the consumer?
Wow, the “life isn’t fair” answer.
I expect a better answer from someone at level 6.

RALPH

Sye S asked:


I have been in touch with a company who said they can add seasoned tradelines to my credit report to boost my score over time. However, in doing some research online, I fopund that a lot of lenders are trying to combat against this practice by ignoring “authorized user” accounts and the points they add to your credit score. I believe this practice began some time last year.

Is there anyone who has had seasoned tradelines added since then in the recent past who has seen some form of improvement to their score AND been able to get a loan (i.e. home, car, etc) with the improved score and tradelines completely considered? I would like to know if this is still a beneficial practice before I spend 800 to add one to my report.

Please, only consumers, not companies trying boost their services. Preferably someone who got through with a loan after adding seasoned tradeleines. Thanks!

ANDREA

Gene Pimentel asked:


So many people are worried about identity theft and the status of their credit report these days. But with so many companies claiming to offer you a free report, it is no wonder consumers are confused and overwhelmed about how to get the information they need. The truth is many companies are not entirely interested in giving you a free credit report, as they are in making money off of you with their other products and services. How does a consumer know where to turn for the information they need?

The Federal Trade Commission is Your Friend

The Federal Trade Commission, a Federal agency set up to protect consumers, is the only place online that offers a truly free credit report through Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can receive reports on your credit every 12 months with no strings attached. Consumers often times are not even aware that they are entitled to review reports on their credit at least once a year, much less get it from a government agency.

Pitfalls to Getting Your Credit Report

Other companies will entice you to their website by stating you will receive a free credit report. Once at the website, you will often times find that you have to buy other products or services before your report will be issued to you. That’s great, if you are interested in the other products and services, but most times consumers just want to see their credit records only.

You may see ads on television or the Internet, or hear ads on the radio from companies offering free credit reports. Be alert to the fact that when you visit the website you might be obligated to buy additional products or services before receiving a report on your credit status. The FTC receives many complaints from consumers who have fallen into this credit report trap. In fact, they encourage you to report any spam websites that you come across.

How to Get Your Free Credit Report

The FTC advises consumers that you cannot get your free credit report directly through Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. You must contact these companies directly through the FTC website. Simply type in “annual credit report” and look for the official website in your search engine. There are many websites that will have a similar name to this one, so be sure you are on the correct website by typing your search carefully. The site will guide you through the appropriate steps to receive a free report on your credit status.

Consumers typically type in search phrases such as “free credit score,” “free credit history,” and other similar phrases only to land in a website that wants to sell you something you don’t need. Avoid using these searches in the future to avoid spam websites.

You can get your annual report on your credit status for free. You can keep a watchful eye on your credit history in these days of high identity theft rates. You just have to know where to go to get the information you need.



ISIDRO

GEORGE J asked:


I have 2 old accounts sold off to a collector who sold it off again now I have 3 hits on my credit report for the same account? How do you fix this problem?

RAPHAEL

surfacecc asked:


I’m trying to get copies of my credit reports by all 3 agencies. I’ve been told that the address is incorrect and that I don’t qualify for a free credit report. Anyone know what to do? Or have the number to speak to a LIVE representative?

MOHAMMAD

Ken asked:


I recently became interested in buying my first house. Unfortunately, I have derogatory credit. I am working with a lending specialist and she had pulled a credit report on me. When we were going over it, there was surprising MUCH less than I had been used to seeing on my credit reports that I have gotten online at places like freecreditreport.com. It wasn’t a great score nonetheless but there was in fact only about ¼ of bad credit reported on this report than the ones I was getting online. The lending specialist that had pulled the report said that there is a huge difference between a CONSUMER credit report and a MORTGAGE credit report. Can anyone shed some light on this and either confirm what I was told or else otherwise? Thanks!
I shoudl have added that this specialist was a relative of mine so I am sure she was rather thourogh. She has been doingh this for 23+ years now. Also, this report had shown both bad AND good credit.

SONNY