tina Kayhan - The Credit Bureau

The Fair Credit Reporting Act/Credit Repair

The Fair Credit Reporting Act Benefits Credit-Active Consumers The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) law went into effect in 1971 and was amended considerably in 1997 by Congress. The original FCRA protected your rights as a credit-active consumer by limiting who has access to your credit report. It mandated that, while you yourself may request a copy at any time, no one else may legally review your report unless they intend to: The 1971 FCRA also stated that your credit report may be accessed in response to a court order or federal grand jury subpoena. Fines up to $5,000 and imprisonment for up to one year are consequences of knowingly and willfully obtaining a credit report under false pretenses. The 1997 version of the FCRA further protects credit-active consumers and gives them more control over their credit information. Highlights of the updated version of the FCRA are summarized below: Credit Reports Credit Disputes Credit Accuracy Credit Offers Credit ClinicsCredit repair clinics will charge consumers up to thousands of dollars to allegedly “repair” less than perfect credit reports. Although these clinics claim the ability to dispose of negative credit information from a consumer’s file, if the negative information is accurate, it has to stay on the credit report for up to 7 to10 years. This is federally mandated. If the consumer pays the credit repair clinic before the service is performed, the consumer can expect to lose a large amount of money. The new law prohibits credit repair clinics from collecting a fee before a service is performed.

Impact of Wells Fargo’s Unauthorized Accounts on Credit Reports

NPR News. Heard on All Things Considered. Sep 26, 2016. This month federal regulators fined wells Fargo $185 million for opening checking and credit card accounts on behalf of customers without their permission. The bank has promised to try to make restitution. What we would suggest: 1- Check your bank and credit card account and review them carefully for five years. Do not wait for a phone call. 2- Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get a free copy of your credit report from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Look for negative signs and late payments. 3- Look to see if closing the credit card has a negative impact on your credit report. 4- Look for transactions and money moved without your permission. According to CFPB if you did not get a refund you feel you deserve, report the issue to the CFPB on its website or call 855-411-2372.

Active Duty Soldiers Now Have Identity Theft Protection

Credit Agencies Stop Reporting Unpaid Tickets

Identity Theft-Credit Freeze

Credit Freeze or Security Freeze Credit freeze is provided by 3 major credit reporting agencies to prevent credits, loans from being approved in your name without your signature. When you put a security freeze on your credit report, you will be provided a personal identification number or password. You will use this password when you try to remove the freeze from your report or give permission to temporarily release your credit report for a specific person or time. If you are applying for new credit, you should organize and lift the freeze, either completely, or specifically for a certain creditor, a few days before actually applying for new credit. But remember that your already existing creditors are exception to this rule and they can run your report. Collection agencies acting on behalf of your existing account can also run your report without permission. When you put a security freeze on your report with one bureau it is not automatically shared with other bureaus. So you need to call the three credit reporting agency separately using the following phone numbers. Equifax 1 800 685 1111 TransUnion 1 800 916 8800 Experian 1 888 397 3742 How to Un-freeze: You can use the following links to un-freeze your report or simply call the above numbers for guidance. https://www.freeze.equifax.com https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html https://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp Please call us if you have any questions. The Credit Bureau Phone Number is: 800-518-1077 Option 4

Identity Theft- First Step

Identity theft first steps Place a free, one-year credit freeze by contacting the three credit bureaus. Experian.com/help 888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742) TransUnion.com/credit-help 888-909-8872 Equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services 800-685-1111 Sign up for monitoring by going to this link. Consumer Report | The Credit Bureau provides: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion™ Reports & Scores Can Be Refreshed Every 30 Days 3 Bureau Daily Monitoring & Alerts $1 Million Identity Theft protection US Based Customer Support if anything happens Please call us: The Credit Bureau Phone Number is: 800-518-1077 Option 4