Free Credit Report
The Fair Credit Reporting Act was recently amended due to repeated abuses by the national credit reporting agencies, their affiliates, subscribers and furnishers of data. Documented error rates in credit reports have been from 50% to 90%. The new law is referred to as FACTA. Our law firm has always advised Oklahoma consumers to regularly review their credit reports. Before FACTA, consumers were forced to pay a fee to get a copy of their reports from the "Big Three" credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian). Now with FACTA you are allowed to obtain a free copy of your credit report each year from the Big Three.
Things to know before you order your free report:
Beware if you choose to order your credit report online. Some credit bureaus force you to agree to oppressive agreements that severely limit your rights IF you order your report online. For example, you should carefully review the credit bureau website's TERMS and CONDITIONS for fine print clauses that call for you to agree to an arbitration clause, forum selection clause ["exclusive jurisdiction"], choice of law clause or waiver of personal jurisdiction clause. DO NOT EVER agree to an arbitration clause, forum selection clause ["exclusive jurisdiction"], choice of law clause or waiver of personal jurisdiction clause in any contract, especially if confronted with one in the process of obtaining your credit reports. If you do, you may severely limit your rights under federal and state law.
If you agree to arbitration, you will give up your right to have a court and jury hear your case. Instead, any dispute will be decided by a lawyer (usually a corporate attorney) in a secret tribunal from which there is virtually no appeal.
How can I order my free credit report?
We recommend that you NOT order your reports online, but that you either order your reports by mail or phone.
To Request your Credit Report by Mail:
Go to: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf and download the request form. (You will need an Adobe viewer to view the requested form.)
Print and complete the form
Mail the completed form to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
You should allow 2-3 weeks for delivery
To Request your Credit Report by Phone:
Call 1-877-322-8228
You will go through a verification process over the phone.
If you feel you have no choice but to order your free reports online, you may do so at: http://www.annualcreditreport.com. You should not go directly to the Big Three websites because they will not give it to you for free. Remember that if you choose to order online you may be forced to agree to "terms and conditions" that limit your rights.
After you receive copies of your free reports you should review the information being reported about you carefully. Remember error rates in these reports have been from 50% to 90%. If you see any reported information that is inaccurate or false you should immediately contest each erroneous entry in writing to each credit bureau that is reporting the erroneous information. Be clear and complete in your written dispute letter so that the Big Three know who you are, exactly what information you are disputing and why you are disputing the information. Send your dispute letters by certified mail so you are able to prove you sent it. Be sure to keep copies of your written dispute.
For more information contact our David Humphreys at David@hwh-law.com or Luke Wallace at Luke@hwh-law.com
