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Your Credit Report - How to Get One and What to do if you see errors

Did you ever wonder how banks, car lenders or mortgage companies decide whether to give you credit?  Or why you do not qualify for that low interest rate advertised on television.

For most lenders, the information needed to process your loan application is found on your credit report.

Credit reports are computer files about you that are compiled by private companies and sold to lenders.

There are three large companies that collect, process and sell information about your credit.  The three companies are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.  Under a federal law called the “Fair Credit Reporting Act,” you are permitted to obtain copies of your credit reports.  Under Georgia law, there is no cost to you to request  your credit report from each of the credit reporting agencies up to twice a calendar year.  After your second request, you may be charged up to $10 per report. You are also permitted to challenge inaccurate or outdated information on your credit report.

Step 1:  Getting your Credit Report

You can request your credit report by mail, by phone and on-line.

Phone numbers

Equifax - (800) 997-2493

Experian - (888) 397-3742

Trans Union (800) 888-4213

One of my clients was kind enough to advise me that each of the credit bureaus now has an automated system to request credit reports, as follows:

Equifax - 800-997-2493, then 1, enter your SS number, then 1 to confirm, your two digit birth year, then the number portion of your street address.  They promise it will be mailed within 2 days.

Experian - 1-888-397-3742. Choose option 2, then 1, 1, your 9 digit SS number, your zip code and the number portion of your address. They promise delivery within 6 to 8 days.

Trans Union - 1-800-888-4213, 1, then answer questions as requested followed by the # key.  They promise delivery in 6 to 8 days.

On-line - it has been our experience that on-line requests work about half the time.  Because credit data is confidential, you will only get access to your credit report on-line if you are able to answer questions about your credit profile.  For example, you may be asked the name of a street you lived on previously, and asked to choose the correct answer from four possible answers.  You may be asked to name the lender from a prior car loan.  Be alert.  Sometimes the answers to these questions is “none of the above.”  Click on the link to visit the credit reporting agencies on-line:

Equifax - click here for Equifax on-line

Experian - click here for Experian on-line

Trans Union - click here for Trans Union on-line

By Mail (make sure to include the following information with your request: full names, social security number, current address, previous address, date of birth, home phone number and signature)

Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374 or click here for form

Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013 or click here for form

Trans Union, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022 or click here for form

Step 2 - Reading your credit report

At our law firm, we recommend that you obtain copies of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies.  Then cross reference each report to identify both the positive and negative information.  We recommend that you use a worksheet (like our Bankruptcy Intake form) to make sure that you have everything listed).

It has been our experience that the Experian report is the easiest to read. Experian also includes addresses of your creditors.  The Experian report deletes the last few digits of your account numbers.

The Trans Union report does not delete account numbers, which makes it helpful.

The Equifax report frequently contains entries that may not be picked up by the other agencies.

As you review your credit reports, pay particular attention to the following:

(A) References to judgments and Court actions - some lenders and many utilities, state taxing authorities and other state agencies have the legal right to sue you in another state and to obtain judgments against you.  Judgments are very dangerous and can result in immediate wage garnishment, a levy against your bank account and loss of your tax refund checks.

(B) References to child support obligations - failure to pay child support can result in incarceration.  Again, you may not even be aware of legal action and still be subject to harsh consequences.

(C) References to student loan obligations - if you are in default of student loan obligations, you may be subject to wage garnishment or income tax refund seizure without the necessity of a lawsuit.  It has been our experience that student loan accounts are often sold and transferred between banks and government guaranty agencies.  Frequently payments are not applied and balances are inflated by collection charges, interest and other unknown fees. 

(D) Collection agencies sometimes buy accounts or report to the credit bureau under names you have never seen before.

(E)  Mistakes on your report - mistakes are very common.  Don’t assume that a mistake on your credit report will be corrected without your taking action.

Step 3 - Challenging Inaccurate or Out-dated Information

Each of the credit bureaus has procedures for challenging incorrect or obsolete information.  Note that the Fair Credit Reporting Act provides that negative information that is inaccurate or that cannot be verified must be removed.

Does this mean that accurate information that cannot be verified by the lender must come off your report?  Our reading of the law seems to suggest that the answer to this question is “yes.”  Think of it this way - what if a credit card lender sued you in state court about a debt you did, in fact owe, but could not produce evidence that you had used the card or that you had agreed to be obligated?  Courts require evidence - not just the word of the creditor.  Thus, a loophole exists - if a creditor deletes evidence or does not take the time to reply to an inquiry, you will benefit.

Obviously credit reporting agencies know that people may choose to challenge negative information hoping that it will not be verified.   The Fair Debt Reporting Act gives the credit agencies the right to ignore “frivolous” challenges.  Each of the credit reporting agencies has its own criteria to determine what is a “frivolous” challenge.  Your task, therefore, is to get past the screener with a challenge that is deemed legitimate.

We do not publish our methods for successfully challenging inaccurate or unverifiable negative credit information because we want those methods to continue to work for our clients.  We can tell you that general challenges of dozens of items on your credit report will not work and that persistence does pay off. 

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