Credit Reports

Actually, yes. You may be surprised to learn that any business with a "permissible purpose" can gain access to your credit report, including anyone who wants to be in business with you. "Permissable purposes" include creditors and companies who pull your credit scores for "promotional purposes" that is, they want to see if they should market their services to you. This is perfectly legal and admissible. These inquiries then become part of your credit report but they are called "soft inquiries." "Hard inquiries" are inquiries that come from a lender who is inquiring for the specific purpose of extending you credit. Numerous hard inquiries can have a negative impact on your score, but soft inquiries have no impact whatsoever.

Whenever you receive a "preapproved" or "prescreened" offer of credit, this is because the bank or company who is offering credit to you has either pulled your credit information through a "soft inquiry," or the credit bureau has sold your information as part of a "trigger lead" program. "Trigger leads" happen when you authorize a lender to access your credit report in reference to a loan application, or other type of credit application. If you meet certain searchable criteria that lenders are looking for (such as age, state of residence, annual income, and credit score), the credit bureau may send your name, address and telephone number to lenders who are part of the trigger lead program, in order for them to solicit your business.

You can choose to opt out of receiving this sort of targeted advertising by going to www.optoutprescreen.com. While this method will not eliminate all targeted advertising, it should eliminate a lot of preapproved offers for five years. For more information, you can consult the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is a federal law that restricts who has access to the information in your credit report.

If you have ever had a credit card stolen or been the victim of identity theft, you know how a wrong negative item can wreak havoc on your credit score. Even misinformation and simple human error can result in mistakes and negative items on your credit report. For example, you could pull your credit report tomorrow and find out that someone in Texas shares your name, but not your history of on-time payments and their credit card account has been mistakenly attributed to your file! If that happens to you, youll want to know how to correct any wrong negative items in your credit report.

In order to dispute an error in your credit report, its advisable to send a letter to the consumer credit bureau (or bureaus, if more than one report is inaccurate) and notify them in writing of the erroneous information. In your letter, you should identify the item or items you dispute, explain your position and request that the information be removed or corrected. It helps to include copies of any documents that support your dispute, such as letters from the creditor confirming that you have paid off the account.

Some credit bureaus also allow you to dispute negative items on your credit report online, at their website. While this may save time, it is not always as effective as sitting down and typing an old-fashioned letter if for no other reason than that it gives you documentation to support your case.

By law, the credit bureaus must investigate any disputed information within 30 days. When they complete their investigation, they must also notify you in writing and send you a free copy of your report with the result. If they have deleted or changed the information, you can also request that they send notice of the correction to anyone who has received your report in the past six months, or two years in the case of anyone who pulled your file for employment purposes.

You should also tell the creditor or information reporter, in writing, that you dispute the item of information, and send them copies of your documentation as well. Keep copies off all your letters and copies of your documentation. That way, if the same mistake happens again, you will have a paper trail in case you need to go through correcting wrong negative items again.

You may not be aware that the three credit bureaus are selling information in your credit report to lenders, credit card companies, insurance companies, telemarketers, and direct mail marketers. You may also not be aware that this type of information gathering and selling is perfectly legal....

What is an "Investigative Consumer Report," and how does it differ from a credit report? As it turns out, there is quite a substantial difference between an investigative consumer report and a credit report.

Your credit report is a collection of data, gathered from your creditors, which...

You're overwhelmed by debt and every other message on your answering machine is from a collection department. You're not sure how to deal with your bills, and the thought of bankruptcy has even crossed your mind. Suddenly, you see an advertisement from a credit repair company claiming that they...

From the time that you get your first credit card , the three major credit bureaus begin to track your behavior with credit, and you begin to establish your credit history. You may be tempted to go crazy with that first credit card, but if you want to protect your credit rating, you need to learn...

If you declare a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it remains on your credit record for 7 years. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will leave its mark on your credit history for even longer: 10 years . In either case, your credit score will plunge and you will find it difficult to get any form of credit during that...

Your credit report is a record of information collected from your creditors, which summarizes your credit history. When you apply for credit, your bank, credit card company or mortgage lender uses your credit report to evaluate the potential risk of lending money to you. In your credit report,...

They say breaking up is hard to do, but can it be hard on your credit score? Unfortunately, the answer can be yes if you are not careful. Many married couples have joint obligations such as a mortgage, car payment, or joint credit accounts with banks and department stores. Technically, the...

You've probably seen the advertisements on television from auto dealerships who claim to be able to work with any buyer to get an auto loan, regardless of your credit history. "Bad credit or no credit, as long as you have a job, we can get you a guaranteed auto loan!" This seems to be the motto...