Frequently Asked Questions
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A
credit file disclosure provides you with all of
the information in your credit file maintained
by a consumer reporting company that could be provided
by the consumer reporting company in a consumer
report about you to a third party, such as a lender.
A credit file disclosure also includes a record
of everyone who has received a consumer report
about you from the consumer reporting company within
a certain period of time ("inquiries").
The credit file disclosure includes certain information
that is not included in a consumer report about
you to a third party, such as the inquiries of
companies for pre-approved offers of credit or
insurance and account reviews, and any medical
account information which is suppressed for third
party users of consumer reports. You are entitled
to receive a disclosure copy of your credit file
from a consumer reporting company under Federal
law and the laws of various states.Top
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You
are entitled to receive one free credit file disclosure
every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer
credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian
and TransUnion. This free credit file can be requested
through this website,www.annualcreditreport.com
or by phone or by mail.Top
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If
free credit reports are available in your state
through the Annual Credit Report Request Service,
you can request a free annual credit report by
phone or mail and it will be mailed within 15 days.
However, you can receive a report immediately by
using this secure website. Click on this link to
find information on how to request a free annual
credit report by phone or mail.Top
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You
are entitled to receive one free credit file disclosure
every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer
credit reporting companies through the Central
Source. It is entirely your choice whether you
order all three credit file disclosures at the
same time or order one now and others later. The
advantage of ordering all three at the same time
is that you can compare them. (However, you will
not be eligible for another free credit file disclosure
from the Central Source for 12 months.)
On the
other hand, the advantage of ordering one now and
others later (for example, one credit file disclosure
every four months) is that you can keep track of
any changes or new information that may appear
on your credit file disclosure. Remember, you are
entitled to receive one free credit file disclosure
through the Central Source every 12 months from
each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting
companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -
so if you order from only one company today you
can still order from the other two companies at
a later date.Top
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A
credit score is a complex mathematical model that
evaluates many types of information in a credit
file. A credit score is used by a lender to help
determine whether a person qualifies for a particular
credit card, loan, or service. Most credit scores
estimate the risk a company incurs by lending a
person money or providing them with a service --
specifically, the likelihood that the person will
make payments on time in the next two to three
years. Generally, the higher the score, the less
risk the person represents.Top
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The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions consumers
to be wary of companies that make claims regarding
credit repair. These companies, commonly called
credit clinics, don't do anything for consumers
that consumers cannot do for themselves at little
or no cost. Beware of any organization that offers
to create a new identity and credit file for you.
The FTC and state attorneys general have filed
actions against those who pursue these fraudulent
practices. Here are some warning signs that the
FTC and others say consumers should look out for
to determine if they might be dealing with a credit
clinic:
- An
organization that guarantees to remove
late payments, bankruptcies, or similar
information from a credit report
- An
organization that charges a lot of money
to repair credit
- A
company that asks the consumer to write
to the credit reporting company and repeatedly
seek verification of the same credit account
information in the file, month after month,
even though the information has been determined
to be correct
- An
organization that is reluctant to give
out their address or one that pushes you
to make a decision immediately
For
a helpful brochure about credit clinics, you can
write to the Federal Trade Commission, Sixth and
Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004
and request a brochure titled "Credit Repair:
Self Help May Be Best." Top
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In
addition to consumers who are eligible for a free
credit file disclosure through the Annual Credit
Report Request Service; consumers in some states
are eligible for a free credit file disclosure
under state law. The following states have laws
that make free credit reports available to consumers:
Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Jersey and Vermont.Top
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Federal
Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
Room 130
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
www.ftc.gov/creditTop
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You
can request your credit report by mail by filling
out the request form and mailing it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
You must have an Adobe viewer to download the request
form. Download the free Adobe viewer.
For your security, and in order to ensure you are using
the request form that has been authorized by the Central
Source, please use the link above to download the form
from this website. Only the Central Source, and Equifax
(at http://www.equifax.com/), Experian
(at http://www.experian.com/) and TransUnion
(at http://www.transunion.com/) as it's
members, have been authorized by law and the government
(see FTC.gov) to provide free credit reports as described
on this site. We cannot ensure your personal information
will be kept secure and used for proper purposes if
you use forms or provide information to persons, addresses,
numbers, etc. not authorized by this site or the entities
listed above.
In addition to the request form, please provide a copy
of the minor child's birth certificate and Social Security
card. Additionally, please provide proof of guardianship,
such as a birth certificate, along with a copy of your
driver's license, which includes your current address
so we may promptly respond to your request. Top
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The
Annual Credit Report Request Service recognizes
the importance of secure online transactions, and
takes steps to safeguard the privacy of information
you provide through online forms. For your online
requests for free credit file disclosures, programs
encrypt the information you provide on the request
form before transmission to the selected nationwide
consumer credit reporting company(ies). This information
is decrypted only upon receipt by the selected
credit reporting company(ies). Physical, electronic
and procedural safeguards designed to guard your
personally identifiable information are maintained.
Further, the site's security protocols and measures
are designed to protect the personally identifiable
information you provide from unauthorized access or
alteration. These measures include physical security,
technological security measures and encryption of certain
information.Top
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You
must enter your Social Security Number to receive
a free credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com.
The site's security protocols and measures are
designed to protect the personally identifiable
information you provide from unauthorized access
or alteration. As an added security measure, you
can choose to have your credit report display no
more than the last four digits of your Social Security
number.
See answer to "How secure is my information?" above
for more information.Top
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To
assure that your credit file is disclosed only
to you, the nationwide consumer credit reporting
companies will authenticate your identity utilizing
the personal identification information you provide
on this site, including, but not limited to, your
Social Security number, and then require that you
answer certain questions. For your protection,
if your identity cannot be authenticated for online
delivery of your credit report, you will receive
further instructions on how to request your report
for delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Failure
to authenticate for online delivery of your annual
credit file disclosure is not an indicator of fraudulent
activity or identity theft.Top
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Typing
the characters from a picture helps ensure that
a person-not an automated program-is completing
the form. This step helps to protect your personal
information from being downloaded by an unauthorized
user.
In
most cases, an automated program cannot recognize
the characters in the picture. Top
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A
cookie is a piece of text information that a web
server may transfer to your web browser when you
visit this website. Cookies are commonly used by
websites to improve your experience and to enable
systems to recognize your browser. Only the information
that you provide, or the choices you make while
visiting a website, can be stored in a cookie.
For example, the site cannot determine your email
name unless you choose to type it. Allowing a website
to create a cookie does not give that or any other
site access to the rest of your computer and only
the site that created the cookie can interpret
it. Our cookies will stay in memory only during
your single visit to our site (session cookie).Top
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Cookies
must be enabled to access your credit reports from
the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies
through this website.
This website uses session cookie technology for the
following purposes:
- To
allow you to request a free credit file
disclosure from more than one nationwide
consumer credit reporting company during
a visit without your having to re-enter
your information each time you request
a free credit file disclosure from a nationwide
consumer credit reporting company.
- To
allow us to gather aggregated statistical
data about the use of this website for
management and development purposes; and
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How can I accept cookies?
You
can decide if and how your computer will accept
a cookie by establishing your preferences in your
web browser. Internet Explorer is set up to allow
the creation of cookies; however, you can specify
that you be prompted before a site puts a cookie
on your hard disk. Cookies must be enabled to
access your credit reports from the nationwide
consumer credit reporting companies through this
website.Top
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What should I do if I suspect I have received
a fraudulent e-mail regarding this service?
If
you suspect you've received a fraudulent e-mail,
forward it to us immediately at securityreport@annualcreditreport.com.
This e-mail address is able to handle messages
related solely to suspected e-mail fraud.Top
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Questions?
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