Contents

• Consumer information is collected by the three major credit bureaus and consolidated in credit reports. Lenders, insurance companies and employers get copies of these reports as part of their decision-making process. This information also goes into calculating the consumer's credit score. According to Fair Isaac Corp., which created the FICO credit score, the score is affected by things like the length of a consumer's credit history, the types of accounts he has, credit limits, amounts owed and payment history.
  
  

Access

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumers have free access to their credit information. They can request one free report each year from Transunion, Experian and Equifax. This can be done by calling 877-322-8228 or visiting the official annualcreditreport.com website.
  
  

Considerations

• Like any other business, a credit bureau can make mistakes. This can result in incorrect negative information being placed into a consumer's records. You should take advantage of your free annual credit reports to make sure there are no errors. If you find incorrect information, file a dispute with the bureau. They must investigate your complaint and remove the information if it cannot be verified.
  
  

Timeframe

• Legitimate negative credit information can hurt your ability to get loans and conduct certain other types of business. Fortunately, there is a limit on the amount of time such items can remain on your credit report. Most of these items must be removed after seven years. A bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for seven to ten years, depending on the settlement terms. If the appropriate length of time has passed and outdated information is still showing up on your report, file a dispute to get it removed.
  
  

Warning

• The FTC warns that "impostor websites" may advertise free credit reports without clearly disclosing that they are not the official site. The impostor sites do provide free reports, but consumers are required to purchase a credit monitoring subscription or some type of service in order to get the reports at no cost. There may be a free trial of the service, but if the consumer doesn't cancel it on time, she will be subject to ongoing credit card charges. The only website authorized to provide the free credit reports required by law is annualcreditreport.com.