Military4Life - About Your Credit Report

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Protect Your Credit Rating

Carefully review statements from banks and creditors and notify the business immediately if you notice any suspicious activity.

Obtain copies of your credit reports from the three major reporting bureaus and review them carefully for accuracy. If you have placed a fraud alert on your credit reports, your reports will be sent to you automatically. All consumers can obtain a free credit report every 12 months, regardless of whether they have been identity theft victims. Call 1-877-322-8228 or make a request online at https://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Beware of phone calls, e-mails and other communications from individuals claiming to be from Veterans Affairs or another government agency and who solicit personal information. Government agencies and other legitimate organizations will not contact you to confirm your Social Security number, bank account or other personal information.

'Active Duty' Alerts Help Protect
Military Personnel from Identity Theft
The last thing you want to worry about while you're on deployment is someone assuming your identity to commit financial fraud. Now, you don't have to. Amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act allow you to place an "active duty alert" in your credit report. According to the Federal Trade Commission, one of the agencies that enforces the FCRA, the alert requires creditors to verify your identity before granting credit in your name.

Your credit report contains information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate applications for credit, and a host of other activities, including insurance, employment, or renting a home.

Your credit report can be a tool to help you guard against - or discover - identity theft, which occurs when someone uses your personal information - like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number - to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don't pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate or fraudulent information could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or housing, now or in the future. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their names and credit records.

If you are a member of the military and away from your usual duty station, you may place an "active duty alert" on your credit report to help minimize the risk of identity theft while you are deployed. When a business sees the alert on your credit report, it must verify your identity before issuing you credit. The business may try to contact you directly, but if you're on deployment, that may be impossible. As a result, the law allows you to use a personal representative to place or remove an alert. Active duty alerts on your report are effective for one year, unless you request that the alert be removed sooner. If your deployment lasts longer, you may place another alert on your report.

To place an "active duty" alert, or to have it removed, call the toll-free fraud number of one of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union. The company will require you to provide appropriate proof of your identity, which may include your Social Security number, your name, address, and other personal information.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com
Contact only one of the three companies to place an alert - the company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, as well. If your contact information changes before your alert expires, remember to update it.

When you place an active duty alert, your name will be removed from the nationwide consumer reporting companies' marketing lists for prescreened offers of credit and insurance for two years - unless you ask that your name be placed on the lists before then. Prescreened offers - sometimes called "preapproved" offers - are based on information in your credit report that indicates you meet certain criteria set by the offeror.

To learn more about identity theft and your credit rights under the FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, visit www.ftc.gov/credit.

Responding to Security Breaches: A Federal Trade Commission fact sheet, "What to Do if Your Personal Information Has Been Compromised," provides steps to take to minimize the potential for identity theft. It is online at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/infocompalrt.pdf.

Identity Theft Victims: If you become a victim of identity theft, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338) or the Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-551-4636 for further assistance. Information is also available online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft and www.atg.wa.gov.

About Your Credit Report
Your consumer credit report contains the following 4 types of information:

(1) identifying information which includes your name, last known address, previous known addresses, marital status, Social Security Number, date of birth, number of dependent's, spouse's name, and employment information;

(2) credit information which includes account numbers, creditors name, amount of last payment on debts, credit limit on listed accounts, and timeliness of payments on accounts;

(3) public record information which includes all tax lien, court judgments and bankruptcies; and

(4) inquiry section which includes all creditors, employers and others who have requested a copy of your credit report.

Many people don't know they have a credit problem until they are denied credit -- such as a credit card -- because of their credit history. Your credit history reflects information that your creditors have reported to credit bureaus. Credit bureaus can legally report accurate poor payment information for 7 years and for bankruptcies -- 10 years. A recent study estimates that 29% of all credit reports contain serious errors and 70% of all credit reports contain mistakes of some kind.

There are no easy cures for an accurate bad credit history, so be wary of companies that claim they can erase bad credit. The Federal Trade Commission lists these warning signs of a scam "credit clinic";

(1) The organization guarantees to remove late payments, bankruptcies, or similar information from a credit report;

(2) The organization charges a lot of money to "repair" your credit;

(3) The company asks the consumer to write to the credit bureau and repeatedly seek verification of the same credit account information in the file, even though the information has been determined to be correct;

(4) The organization is reluctant to give out their address; and

(5) The organization pushes the consumer to make a decision immediately. These "credit repair" organizations can only erase outdated and inaccurate information, and if they can erase it, then so can you--for free or for a few dollars--with a few simple steps:

1. Request a copy of your report from a credit bureau. If you have recently been denied credit because of a poor report, the company denying credit must provide you the name of the bureau that supplied that report. You have 60 days to then write to the credit bureau for a free copy. Otherwise, any credit bureau will send you a report for a small fee.

2. Review the report and look for genuine mistakes and outdated items -- these are the only items that can be erased from a credit report.

a. If you find a genuine mistake -- for example, you never made the charge, or you paid the bill on time -- notify the credit bureau in writing and provide as much information as you can about what's wrong with the report. The credit bureau must then provide you with proof that the information is correct. Credit reporting companies have 30 days to verify disputed information, or they must remove it from your file and send a corrected copy of your report to anyone who received it in the last 6 months and anyone who has received it for employment purposes in the last 2 years.

b. If the information is correct, but outdated -- reported more than 7 years ago or 10 years if you filed for bankruptcy -- then that information must be deleted. Even if you haven't been denied credit, it's a good idea to check the report to verify that outdated information has been removed. Caveat -- outdated information can still be reported for loan applications of over $150,000 e.g., a mortgage application.

c. If you still have poor credit after taking these steps, you can file a statement of up to 100 words with the credit bureau explaining your side of the story. This becomes part of your credit report, so any potential creditor has the opportunity to read any explanation of negative credit. The best prevention for a poor credit report is to pay bills that aren't in dispute, and report disputed bills to your creditor in writing as soon as you receive a statement showing the disputed bill.

CREDIT CARD USE & PROTECTION

I. IF YOU USE A CREDIT CARD

If you use a credit card - and today most families have at least one - you should know about your protections under Federal Law. Specifically, you should be aware:

1. How to limit your risk if your card is lost or stolen.

2. What you can do if goods you buy with a credit card are unsatisfactory or damaged.

3. How to resolve credit card billing disputes with creditors.

4. How to figure out and compare credit card charges.

II. UNSOLICITED CREDIT CARDS

It is illegal for a card issuer to send you a credit card unless you ask or apply for one. However, a card issuer may send you, without your request, a new card to replace an expired one. You may also be sent an application for a card in the mail or be asked to apply by phone.

III. LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

Your risk on lost or stolen credit cards is limited. You do not have to pay for any unauthorized charges made after you notify the card company of loss or theft of your card. So keep a list of your credit card numbers and notify card issuers immediately if your card is lost or stolen. Most card companies have a toll-free number for reporting missing or stolen cards. Some companies provide 24-hour service. The most you will have to pay for unauthorized charges is $50.00 on each card - even if someone runs up several hundred dollars worth of charges before you report a card missing.

IV. HOW TO GUARD AGAINST CREDIT AND CHARGE CARD FRAUD

To protect yourself against fraud involving your credit card, you should take the following precautions:

•Sign your new cards as soon as they arrive.

•Carry your cards separately from your wallet.

•Keep a record of your card numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure place.

•Keep your card in view, whenever you can, after you give it to a clerk.

•Retrieve your card promptly after using it.

•Never sign a blank receipt.

•Draw a line through blank spaces above the total when you sign card receipts.

•Void or destroy all carbons and incorrect receipts.

•Save your card receipts to compare with your billing statements.

•Open billing statements promptly and reconcile your card accounts each month, just as you would your checking account.

•Report promptly and in writing any questionable charges to the card issuer.

•Notify card companies in advance of a change of address.

In addition, here are some things you should not do:

•Never lend your card(s) to anyone.

•Never leave your cards or receipts lying around.

•Never put your card number on a postcard or on the outside of an envelope.

•Never give your number over the phone unless you are initiating a transaction with a company you know is reputable.

If you have questions about a company, check with your local Consumer Protection Office or Better Business Bureau before ordering.

V. BILLING DISPUTES

The best advice for credit card users is to keep a copy of each receipt and compare receipts with charges when you receive your bill. If you find an error, you should attempt to settle the dispute as soon as possible. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the consumer has 60 days to send written notice to the credit card company of any errors on a bill. Be sure to include your account number and an explanation of why you think the bill is incorrect. The company must acknowledge your complaint within 30 days of receiving it and must take appropriate action within 90 days. The company is required by law either to make corrections in the bill or to investigate the complaint and explain why the consumer owes the amount billed. In cases where the consumer says he or she was billed for an item never received, it is the credit card company's duty to verify the item was actually delivered or mailed.

If you have a complaint about your bill, the company may not close your account prior to taking the above actions and sending you a written explanation of your account. You will have at least 10 days from the time you receive the explanation to pay the disputed amount. After that time, the company can declare your account delinquent and report the information to third parties. However, if you provide a further written notice to the company that the amount is still disputed, the law says the company must also report that the bill is in dispute, and must give the consumer written notice if the delinquency is reported to third parties. If the dispute is later resolved, the creditor must notify the same parties of the resolution.

See the Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 United States Code ?1666, or consult your credit card issuer for the most up to date reporting requirements for billing disputes.

VI. DEFECTIVE GOODS OR SERVICES

You may withhold payment on any damaged or defective goods or unsatisfactory services purchased with the credit card, as long as you have made an effort to solve the problem with the merchant.

This right is limited if the card was a bank or travel and entertainment card (e.g., Master Card or American Express) or any card not issued by the store where you made your purchase. In such cases, the sale:

•must have been for more than $50.00; and

•must have taken place in your home state or within 100 miles of your home address.

VII. PROMPT CREDIT FOR PAYMENTS

If you can avoid finance charges on your credit card account by paying within a certain time, it is obviously important that you get your bills, and get credit for paying them, promptly. Check your statements to make sure your creditor follows these rules:

Prompt billing. Look at the date on the postmark. If your account is one on which no finance charge is added before a certain due date, then creditors must mail their statements at least 14 days before payment is due.

VIII. TIPS ON CREDIT CARDS

•Shop around for the best terms. Remember finance charges may differ depending on the method the creditor uses to assess them.

•Make sure you understand all the terms of your credit card agreement before you sign.

•Pay bills promptly to keep up your good credit rating and to avoid high finance charges or late payment penalty charges.

•Keep a list of all your credit card numbers in case of loss or theft, and keep a good record of your purchases and payments.