On Line Credit Reports
A Credit Article Contributed by Mark Mcclelland
Where Can You Get a Copy of Your Credit Reports on Line
Among the many benefits afforded us by the Internet is easy access to an incredible amount of on line information, including access to such things as your credit reports. The "web" is by far the easiest way to gather the data we need to work, play, and just plain browse around for interesting tidbits of information. There are three national credit reporting agencies(CRAs): TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, and they each gather and sell financial information regarding consumers.
Practically all of this business is transacted on line. There are also a huge number of other companies that will, for a fee, get you a copy of your credit reports and send them to you on line either as a "consolidated" report or three separate reports, one from each of the three CRAs. And where do you think they get the data? From the three CRAs, of course; exactly where you can get them from.
What's in Your on Line Credit Reports
The credit reports, generally obtained on line, will contain a large amount of data concerning you personally, your credit history, your job history, as well as information made public by local, state and federal agencies, like your local taxing authorities.
While the CRAs try to ensure that the data the collect and sell is accurate - they actually collect the data from employers, lending institutions, and other sources that might not fully appreciate the need for absolute accuracy - there is no guarantee that the data contained in your on line credit reports will be error free.
This being the case, you should check, at least once a year, to ensure that the data contained in your files is correct, and take appropriate action when errors are discovered. It helps to understand that the data contained in the reports is not YOUR data, the data belongs to the CRAs. The data may be ABOUT you, and it may be wrong, but it's THEIR data.... they own it.
Just keep that in mind when you ask them to correct some niggly little inconsequential error you feel misrepresents your intention in some transaction. On the other hand, if the error is significant enough that potential creditors might deny you credit based on it, you should certainly pursue corrective action.
Can You Correct Errors in Your on Line Credit Reports
Not only can you ask that errors in your credit reports be corrected... you should. These files are your financial resume, as it were. Anybody looking at these reports, perhaps because of the application you submitted for that 0% introductory rate credit card, or you application for that perfect apartment or condo, will base their decisions in part (or in whole) based on the data contained therein. But keep in mind that the CRA's probably won't look kindly upon a request for correction that simply mollifies your hurt feelings.
Even though you can dispute data contained in your credit reports on line with each of the three CRAs, you probably shouldn't. As a paper trail is always a good thing when dealing with financial issues, when you discover errors in your credit reports and want to ask that they be corrected, (what you are doing is disputing the accuracy of the data contained in the reports and are asking that an investigation be initiated on your behalf), you should do so in writing, always keeping copies for your own files.
The FTC has a lot of good information regarding how to initiate disputes with the CRAs, how to track the progress of your disputes, and what to do when they CRAs refuse to comply with your request that they correct the data in your files.
