Consumer credit reports are often used by businesses to help
them decide whether to lend money or provide other types of
benefits to a particular consumer. Credit bureaus provide credit
report information on consumers to interested parties, to enable
them to assess a person's risk levels or suitability for a loan
or other purpose. These consumer credit reports show the status
of your credit score including judgments, tax liens, and other
credit related information. Your consumer credit report can be
accessed very easily, and often at little or no cost. In fact,
you are entitled to one free copy a year. Be sure to check your
consumer credit report often to ensure that it is accurate.
To purchase a copy of your consumer credit report there are a
number of contact details that you can use:
Equifax call: (800) 997-2493 write: Equifax Information Service
Center P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian (Formerly TRW) call: (888) 397-3742 write: Experian
National Consumer Assistance Center P.O. Box 2104 Allen, TX
75013-2104.
Trans Union call: (800) 888-4213 write: Trans Union Corp.
Consumer Disclosure Center P.O. Box 390 Springfield, PA
19064-0390.
A copy of your consumer credit report will cost between 8.00 and
11.00 USD. You can also get a free copy of your consumer credit
report if you have been turned down for credit in the last two
months. If you do have a problem with your consumer credit
report you can repair it. Many creditors offer their clients
help in cleaning up their consumer credit report. Accurate data,
negative or positive cannot be removed legally from a consumer
credit report. However if there is incorrect information on your
consumer credit report you should know the following:
1. You can usually have inaccurate information removed from your
credit report at little or no cost by contacting the relevent
credit bureau.
2. Credit repair scams that involve "file segregation" or hiding
unfavorable credit history are often illegal.
3. Credit repair companies are required to provide consumers
with complete information about the services they will provide.
They must not charge a fee until after services have been
provided.
Therefore, if you are ever asked to compensate a credit repair
service before they have successfully repaired your consumer
credit report, it is illegal and you should not pay them. Be
sure to get a detailed list of what they will do to help you and
know your rights.
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