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At GregoryNetwork, we know how
important money and credit is to you. Because of our interest in providing you
information and education, we have adopted the following articles, continuing
our commitment to you, our valued customer:
1. Which Credit
Reporting Agency Has Your Report. Contact the CRA's listed in the Yellow
Pages under "credit" or "credit rating and reporting". Not all of the major
bureaus contain the same information, so contact all of them until you find one
agency that conain all the information you need. The three major credit bureaus
are: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Merged Reports or 3-in-1
Report.
You have the right to know what is in your report if you ask for
it. The CRA must tell you everything in your report, including medical
information, and the sources of the information. The CRA also must give you a
list of everyone who has requested your report within the past year-two years
for employment related requests.
Usually there is a charge associated
with getting your report. If a company takes adverse action against you, such
as denying your application for credit, insurance or employment, and you
request your report within 60 days of receiving the notice of the action,
there's no charge. The notice will give the name, address and phone number of
the CRA. You are also entitled to one free report a year if you certify in
writing that (1) you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days,
(2) you're on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate because of fraud.
Otherwise, a CRA may charge you up to $8 for a copy of your report.
2.
Inaccurate or Incomplete and Information about You. Under the new law,
both the CRA and the information provider have responsibilities for correcting
inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To protect all your rights
under this law, contact both the CRA and the information provider. A
reinvestigation may not resolve your dispute with the CRA. If that is the case,
ask the CRA to include your statement of the dispute in your file and in future
reports. If you request, the CRA also will provide your statement to anyone who
received a copy of the old report in the recent past. There is usually a fee
for this service.
A Credit Reporting Agency can report negative
information 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. -Information reported in response to
an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit.
-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 judgement against you can be reported for seven years or until the
statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.
3. Who Can Get
Your Credit Report. Your employer can obtain a copy of your report only if
you say it's okay. A CRA may not supply information about you to your employer,
or to a prospective employer, without your consent. Creditors, employers, or
insurers cannot get a report that contains medical information about you
without your approval.
Only people with a legitimate business need, as
recognized by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, can obtain your report. For
example, a company is allowed to get your report if you apply for credit,
insurance, employment, or to rent an apartment.
4. Lawful
Actions. You have the right to sue for damages a user, CRA, and in some
cases a provider of CRA data, in state or federal court for most violations of
the FCRA. If you win, the defendant will have to pay damages and reimburse you
for attorney fees to the extent ordered by the court.
If your credit
application was denied, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires creditors to
specify why-if you ask. For example, the creditor must tell you whether you
were denied because you have "no credit file" with a CRA or because the CRA
says you have "delinquent obligations". The ECOA also requires creditors to
consider additional information you might supply about your credit history. You
may want to find out why the creditor denied your application before you
contact the CRA.
Although the FTC cannot act as your lawyer in private
disputes, information about your experiences and concerns are vital to the
enforcement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
5. Disclosing
Information to Outside Parties. Creditors and insurers may use CRA file
information as a basis for sending you unsolicited offers. These offers must
include a toll-free number for you to call if you want to remove your name and
address from lists for two years; completing a form that the CRA provides for
this purpose will keep your name off the lists pemanently.
Credit
Bureaus collect and sell five basic types of information: your name, birth
date, Social Security Number, employer and spouse's name. The CRA may also
provide information about your employment history, home ownership, income and
previous address.
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