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Credit reports free -- and now easy

The big bureaus join forces as the new Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act kicks in. See the details about their new site -- and about your new rights.

By Bankrate.com

Want one of those free credit reports you've heard about? The three consumer credit-reporting bureaus have decided to make it easy for you.

Just days before implementation of a new law that, among other things, guarantees every consumer a free yearly look at his credit record, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion announced that they had joined forces to offer a one-stop free credit report center.

Click this link Annualcreditreport.com this will allow you to request, view and print one, two or all three of your free credit reports quickly via a secure Internet site. You can also request the report by phone or mail (these will be processed within 15 days of receipt).

Internet address: www.annualcreditreport.com
Toll-free number: (877) 322-8228
Mailing address: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

The bureaus stressed that this is the only service they have authorized for requesting your free annual report. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed into law in December 2003, gives every American the right to a free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Most major provisions in the sprawling new law, including those much sought-after freebie credit reports, will go into effect across the country over the coming months.

Here's the timetable:

Dec. 1: Western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).
Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) will become eligible on March 1, 2005.
Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas ) will become eligible on June 1, 2005.
Eastern states (Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia), Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories become eligible on Sept. 1, 2005.

Until then, unless you live in the handful of states that offer free credit reports, you'll need to pay as much as $9 to take a gander at your credit record.

There's a lot more to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act than free credit reports. Here's a quick summary of other key provisions and consumer protections in the new law, most of which go into effect in December.

The new safeguards

Uniform credit standards: In 1996, Congress set uniform national standards on credit reporting. These standards set clear rules on what credit agencies could include in consumer credit reports. The new law made these standards permanent.

Safeguarding receipts: To help ward off identity theft, retailers must hide credit card and debit card information on customer receipts. Only the last five digits of a card number will be listed. As of Jan. 1, 2005, all new cash registers and point-of-sale terminals must print these safeguarded receipts. Merchants have until Dec. 4, 2006, to phase out any existing registers or terminals that print full account numbers on receipts.

New opt-out rules: Consumers will have the right to "opt-out" and block solicitations from affiliates of companies that they do business with.

Disclosing bad credit news: Thanks to the new law, a bank will have to tell you if it reports any negative information about you to the credit bureaus. A bank will also have to tell you if it grants you credit at less favorable terms than those received by most other consumers.

Reporting of false credit news: Any debt collector that learns that information on a consumer's credit report is fraudulent must inform the creditor that the information is false. No retailer or creditor may report credit information to credit bureaus that is known or believed to stem from fraud.

More power for identity-theft victims: Identity-theft victims who file police reports will be able to block fraudulent information from appearing on their credit reports.

And fraud victims will also get more help from businesses in tracking down impostors. Under the new law, an identity-theft victim will be able to obtain copies of business records that list fraudulent transactions carried out by an identity thief.

Beefed-up fraud alerts: A fraud alert is a statement that's placed on your credit report to alert creditors that your private financial information has been or may be compromised.

Identity-theft victims put fraud alerts on their credit files after they learn impostors are ringing up charges in their names.

Under the new law, once a credit bureau receives a fraud alert, it must take steps to ensure that the consumer and not the thief will be granted credit in the future. This extra step could be something as simple as calling the phone number listed in a consumer fraud alert whenever a new application for credit pops up.

Special alerts for the military: Americans in the armed forces will be able to place special alerts in their credit files while they are serving overseas to help minimize their chances of becoming victims of identity theft.

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01/29/08