All Georgia consumers should get into the habit of regularly checking their credit reports. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus every twelve months. This means that you literally have NO excuse not to check.
Knowing what’s on your credit reports will let you know exactly where you stand with your credit. This is a crucial step to take before applying for a loan or a new credit card. Otherwise, how will you know if you’re getting a fair interest rate? If you’re denied credit, will you know why? Also, if there are errors on your credit reports, they could be bringing your credit score down. Of course, you can have these errors removed, but only if you know they’re there.
The Easiest Ways for Georgia Residents to Get Free Copies of their Credit Reports
You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com to request free credit reports from all three major credit reporting bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian). This is the only website authorized by the government. If you haven’t checked any of your credit reports in a while, this is the fastest way to obtain copies of all three of your credit reports. Georgia residents may be known for taking their time with things, but they’re probably willing to make an exception when it comes to their credit scores.
If you prefer, though, you can request credit reports from each of the major credit bureaus individually. Just go to TransUnion.com, Equifax.com, or Experian.com and fill out online request forms or get directions on how to ask for your credit reports by mail. This is a harder way to get your credit reports, but it still gets the job done.
Sites like www.creditkarma.com and www.wallethub.com offer free credit reports and complimentary versions of credit scores to those who create accounts. There are other credit monitoring services that also provide similar services. Just make sure that you only share your personal information with trustworthy sites. You should also note that the free credit scores available on these sites are usually not FICO scores. Moreover, they are not the same scores that your prospective lenders will review either.
Finally, if you are denied credit because of something on one of your credit reports, you are entitled to a free credit report from the credit bureau that supplied the information. Along with the denial letter (called an “Adverse Action Letter” in the industry) from the lender or credit card provider, you should receive instructions on how to request this complimentary credit report. If you don’t receive this information, you can make a request directly to the appropriate credit bureau. If the denial letter does not state which credit reporting bureau was used, you should call and ask. They are required to tell you.
How Should Georgia Consumer Dispute Errors on their Credit Reports?
On average, credit scores in Georgia haven’t always been the best, but Peach State residents are working hard to turn things around. If you’re one of the many consumers concerned with repairing bad credit, you definitely don’t want mistakes on your credit reports working against you.
If it never occurred to you to think that there might be mistakes on your credit reports, you’re not alone. Most people don’t realize that about 80 percent of consumer credit reports contain errors of some type. Fortunately, though, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal statute, requires credit bureaus to remove inaccurate items from credit reports.
If you find an error on one of your credit reports, you can have the item removed by submitting a written dispute to the responsible credit bureau. You should also send copies of any documents that will support your claim. After receiving your request, the credit bureau has 30 days in which to make a reasonable investigation into your dispute.
Unfortunately, credit bureaus don’t always deal with disputes in a timely manner. Sadly still, they don’t always make reasonable re-investigations either. You end up sending several letters and make a few phone calls and still not get your issue resolved. The whole process can be time-consuming and frustrating. Yet, it doesn’t have to be. The law, after all, is on your side.
In fact, Georgia consumers can get a FREE credit repair lawyer who has experience with the credit bureaus to clean up their credit reports for them.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at 404-591-6680 or sending him a message through our contact page.
