Consumer Credit Reports


A consumer credit report is a factual record of an individual's credit payment history. It is provided for a purpose permitted by law: to help a credit grantor or lender quickly and objectively decide whether to grant you credit. Most of the information in consumer credit reports comes directly from the companies a person does business with, but some information also comes from public records.

Credit reporting can be helpful in extreme cases, but it is often misrepresented by collection agencies trying to sell their services. When a collection agency reports a delinquent account to a credit bureau, it does not get the business any money today. What is does is provides a 'wish' for a payment some unknown time in the future if the debtor ever has to do a financial transaction that involves a creditor that checks their consumer credit report.

The issue is that credit reporting also can create a liability for businesses because of collection agencies reporting accounts that were not valid debts. This can open the business to legal action - something no businesses needs. It has been esitmated that over 41% of the information contained in consumer credit reports is not accurate, and with identity theft on the rise, a business must tread lightly when considering credit reporting.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates the activities of credit reporting agencies. A credit reporting agency under this law means any person or business which assembles or evaluates consumer credit information for the purpose of providing consumer credit reports to third parties.

According to consumer credit report laws, here are some items that cannot be mentioned in consumer credit reports:

A discharge or final order in Bankruptcy Court dated more than 10 years prior to the date of the consumer credit report. Lawsuits and judgments entered more than 7 years prior to the date of the consumer credit report.

Paid tax liens which, from the date of payment, precede the report by more than 7 years.

Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss by the creditor that are dated more than 7 years before the credit report.

Records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime that, from date of disposition, release, or parole, precede the report by more than 7 years. Any other adverse information that precedes the report by more than 7 years.

Default information concerning U.S. Government insured or guaranteed student loans can be reported for 7 years after actions to collect the debt have been taken against certain guarantors.

There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, Trans Union. Federal law specifies how long negative information can remains on a person's credit report. This includes late payments, accounts that the credit grantor turned over to a collection agency and judgments filed against a person in court - even if later the account was paid.

````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Contacting The Credit Bureaus

Equifax

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
To order report: 1-800-685-1111
To report fraud: 1-800-525-6285
Web site: www.equifax.com

Experian (formerly TRW)

National Consumer Assistance Center
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
To order report: 1-888-397-3742
To report fraud: 1-888-397-3742
Web site: www.experian.com

TransUnion LLC

Consumer Disclosure Center
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
To order report: 1-800-888-4213
To report fraud: 1-800-916-8800
Web site: www.transunion.com

Collection Agency Services offers you a wealth of information on how to select the best collection agency for your business.

http://www.collectionagencyservices.net


MORE RESOURCES:

USG Corp Amends Credit Line; Sees 'Challenging' '09
CNNMoney.com - 1 hour ago
(USG), a building-materials maker, amended its unsecured revolving credit facility, turning it into a secured line providing up to $500 million with easier ...
Lenders give USG more breathing room Chicago Tribune
USG Corporation Amends Bank Agreement - Additional Step Further ... PR Newswire (press release)
all 12 news articles


S&P cuts credit ratings on PNC 1 notch
Forbes, NY - 5 hours ago
AP , 01.08.09, 08:26 AM EST Standard & Poor's has cut its investment-grade credit ratings on PNC Financial Services Group Inc. by one notch, ...
S&P Lowers Credit Ratings on PNC Wall Street Journal
Market Report -- In Play (PNC) MSN Money
S&P downgrades PNC's rating Pittsburgh Post Gazette
all 29 news articles


Homeowners May Apply For Homestead Tax Credit
Washington Post, United States - 11 hours ago
Montgomery County officials remind eligible residents to apply for the state's homestead property tax credit. Application forms were included in assessment ...


WELT ONLINE

Stimulus Plan Would Expand Tax Credit for Poor
Wall Street Journal - 15 hours ago
The plan would grant an estimated 5.5 million poor children access to the credit for the first time, and expand the tax benefit for millions more poor ...
Video: Obama to Bring Accountability to Spending Plan AssociatedPress
Senate Dems doubt Obama’s tax credit idea The Hill
Obama begins campaign to boost his economic recovery plan Chicago Tribune
The Washington Independent - Huffington Post
all 11,567 news articles


Javno.hr

Loan Delinquencies Hit Record High Last Year
Washington Post, United States - 14 hours ago
By Nancy Trejos Delinquencies on auto loans and home equity lines of credit reached their highest levels on record during the third quarter of 2008, ...
Home-equity delinquencies at record level Newsday
Home-equity credit lince delinquencies rise MiamiHerald.com
US Lenders Pay As Idled Borrowers Don't Forbes
Minneapolis Star Tribune - U.S. News & World Report
all 62 news articles


Knowing your FICO credit score
Boston Globe, United States - 4 hours ago
Many experts believe that borrowing will continue to be tight in 2009 unless the government does something to loosen the credit markets at the consumer ...
Fair Isaac inks deal with Romanian credit bureau Bizjournals.com
Biroul de Credit Brings FICO Credit Score to Romania WELT ONLINE
all 70 news articles


Globe and Mail

STOCKS NEWS US-Credit Suisse sees pension underfunding in 2009
Forbes, NY - 3 hours ago
reported weak December same-store sales results. Dow component Wal-Mart Stores , which had been expected to perform strongly, missed expectations in and ...
US Stocks Drop on Retail Forecasts; Wal-Mart, Limited Slump Bloomberg
Wall Street Declines On Economic News BankInfoSecurity.com
all 1,509 news articles


CBS News

Working Triage In The Credit Crisis
CBS News, NY - 19 hours ago
(CBS) The recession gets the credit for lower oil prices - and for more Americans falling behind on their loan payments. A new report says that, ...
More People Turn To Credit Counseling Services cbs4denver.com
When bank accounts are seized, take these 3 steps CreditCards.com
Buyers be wary of debt settlement offers Cherry Hill Courier Post
kwgn.com - The News Journal
all 19 news articles


Borse Dubai May Get $2.5 Billion Loan as Credit Eases
Bloomberg - 8 hours ago
Dubai’s biggest companies have refused to refinance their maturing loans in the past two months as lenders raised margins after the global credit crunch ...


Santander offers 4 bln euros credit to clients
Reuters - 5 hours ago
MC) said on Thursday that it has offered a 4 billion euro ($5.42 billion) credit line for its best self-employed clients and small and medium-sized ...

Credit - Google News

home | site map
© myfinancialsolutiononline.com 2007