CLIPBOARD : HOW TO: GET A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT RATING
Judging from mall traffic, it’s easy to believe that an estimated 90% of Orange County’s residents own an average of five credit cards each. Yet most people cringe at the thought of seeing a copy of their own credit report, a document readily available to credit grantors, insurance companies and potential employers. But according to Susan Murdy of TRW Credit Data, the only thing people have to fear of their credit histories is fear itself. “Ninety percent of the information on file is positive,” she said.
A credit profile is a history of loans, charge accounts, credit cards and public record information limited to bankruptcies, tax liens and judgments. This information is supplied to creditors who subscribe to one of the credit-reporting networks. Orange County has offices for three of the major credit data banks: Credit Bureau Inc., Trans-Union and TRW. These networks gather credit histories supplied by creditors and disperse individual data only to those who have a legitimate business reason for looking at the reports. Credit reports do not include personal information such as salary or income, criminal record, marital status, lifestyle, gender, race or lists of purchases made on credit.
Credit reports and your rights
Consumer credit information companies are regulated by both federal and state laws, the most important of these acts being the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Credit Billing Act. Most notably, these laws guarantee consumers the right to access their own credit files, to be considered for credit on an equal basis and to dispute any questionable billing free of charge within 60 days of receiving the bill.
Most often asked credit report questions
* How can I find out what’s in my credit file? A file disclosure can be obtained by writing or making a personal visit to any or all of the three main credit-reporting companies. To verify “rightful ownership” to the file, the request should include your full name current and previous addresses, Social Security number, year of birth and signature. Inquiries based upon a recent credit denial owing to negative credit information are free of charge. Otherwise, there is an $8 processing fee.
* Now that I have my credit report, what should I do with it? Take a close look at each of the reports. Verify that the information is up to date and matches your records. Generally, there will be a grid of creditor names and a payment record. The payment record will list 0-30, 31-60 and 61-90 days across the grid. A “c” in the 0-30 day ledger indicates payment on the account was received within 30 days of billing and that the account is current.
* How can incorrect credit information be changed? Contact the credit reporting company whose report listed the questionable data. It is the responsibility of the individual credit data companies to contact creditors reporting any disputed information. If the accuracy of the data cannot be verified, it will be deleted. If the dispute is not resolved to the consumer’s satisfaction, a 100-word statement regarding any dispute can be added to the credit file.
* How long is credit information kept on file? Open bank credit cards remain indefinitely. “Paid” or “Paid Satisfactorily” accounts remain for 10 years. Adverse credit information is kept no longer than seven years. And bankruptcies must be removed after 10 years.
Where to write for a copy of your credit report:
TRW Credit Data Division, Consumer Relations 505 City Parkway West Orange, Calif. 92668 (714) 991-5100
Trans Union P.O. Box 3110 Fullerton, Calif. 92634 (714) 870-5191
Credit Bureau Inc. 130 S. State College Blvd., Suite 100 Brea, Calif. 92621 (714) 255-5627
Source: The West Coast Group and various credit reporting agencies
