Credit Reporting Law, Law, Cento Law, Understanding the FCRA
Cento Law
Understanding the FCRA: What Consumers Need to ...

Understanding the FCRA - Credit Reporting Law

Understanding the FCRA: What Consumers Need to Know About Credit Reporting Agencies
Credit Reporting Law, Credit Reporting History
Cento Law
Credit Bureaus Unveiled: The Power, ...
Credit Bureaus Unveiled: The Power, Consolidation, and Consumer Struggles from 1970 to Today
Credit Reporting Law, Cento Law
Cento Law
FCRA - The Fair Credit Reporting Act
FCRA - The Fair Credit Reporting Act
Credit Errors, Credit Report
Cento Law
HOW TO DISPUTE INACCURATE INFORMATION ON YOUR ...

Disputing Inaccuracies

HOW TO DISPUTE INACCURATE INFORMATION ON YOUR CREDIT REPORTS
Credit Report
Cento Law
How to Begin a Credit Repair Process Yourself

A start to fixing credit yourself

How to Begin a Credit Repair Process Yourself

Credit History

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Credit Files & Credit Reports

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Credit Files & Credit Reports

The term "credit file" is often used interchangeably with "credit report", but in the credit reporting industry these terms are distinctly different.  A credit file is a bit of raw data contained within a database. At any given time, the national consumer reporting agencies maintain hundreds of millions of consumer credit files in their databases. According to some estimates these files relate to approximately 250 million credit active consumers across the United States. This means that many consumers have more than one credit file in a consumer reporting agency's system.

A "credit report" is something that does not currently exist. A credit report is created at the moment that it is asked for. Your credit report might look different today than it will a month from now, and most certainly will look different than it did three months ago. ...

You May Have More Than One Credit File

At any given time, the national consumer reporting agencies maintain hundreds of millions of consumer "credit files" in their databases. According to some estimates these files relate to approximately 250 million credit active consumers across the United States. This means that many consumers have more than one file in a consumer reporting agency's system. Having more than one file on any one consumer serves as a catalyst to incomplete and inaccurate data being relied upon in the creation of a consumer report (commonly known as a “credit report”).

Numerous credit files may exists on a single consumer for the following reasons:

  • Consumer reporting agencies may not have enough information to say with the highest degree of certainty that each of the credit files should "merge."
  • The various creditors' records do not always identify an individual consumer in the same way.
  • Consumers may use two or more names in their credit activities (such as nick names, maiden and married names, names with and without generational suffixes).
  • Consumers may have two or more addresses (such as home/school, work/home or vacation or second homes).
  • Creditor's records may misspell or invert letters in names, street addresses, or social security numbers.

Know Your Credit History | Protect Your Rights

Credit Report

Credit Report

Consumer reporting agencies, also known as “credit reporting agencies” or “credit bureaus,” serve a critical role in a consumer’s financial life. After collecting financial and personal data on individuals; the credit reporting agencies are able to generate the aggregated results into a consumer report, commonly known as a “credit report.” In most lending, credit reports, and the credit scores which are derived from them, form the basis of lending decisions. Many employers also use credit reports and other investigative reports to make hiring decisions. From the ability to pay back a loan to establishing one’s worthiness for a job, the information contained in a credit report can cause substantial injury to a consumer when that information turns out to be inaccurate.

Federal laws, like the Fair Credit Reporting Act, were passed by Congress to require credit reporting agencies to “follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information” contained in credit reports, and to protect consumers when inaccuracies cause such injury. However, the burden is still heavily on the consumer when resolving such issues because those federal laws require consumers to know what is on their credit reports and to take action when inaccuracies are discovered. For this reason, it is critical that consumers take advantage of the federal law which requires the agencies, which are Equifax (including credit files owned by CSC Credit Services), Experian, and Trans Union, to provide them with one free credit report each year.  To obtain your free annual report go to the only official site: www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

What is Credit History?

Credit history is a record of your past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy.  In other words, your credit history is your reputation about how much debt you have and how you repay that debt. Your credit history is created by the consumer reporting agencies through credit information they receive and compile from furnishers of credit information such as your mortgage lenders, credit card companies, automobile loan lenders and others.  These furnishers report personal information about you such as your name, address and social security number along with information about your debt, such as the amount of your debt, your payment history, etc.