FREE Credit Report

Free Credit Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three consumer reporting companies to provide a free copy of your credit report once every twelve months. The FCRA promotes the privacy and accuracy of information of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

Your credit report includes information on where you live, whether you've been sued or arrested, and how you pay your bills, or have filed for bankruptcy.  Consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, employment, insurance, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report in Arizona?

The three reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from ftc.gov/credit. Do NOT contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. 

Be very Careful about “Imposter” Websites

Only one website is authorized for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging your credit card.

Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report” in their names; others have websites that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these “imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or collect your personal information.  Be careful.

Annualcreditreport.com and the consumer reporting companies will NOT send you an email asking for your personal information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com or any of the three consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message. It’s probably a scam. Forward any such email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Why do I want to get my credit report?

Your credit report has information that will determine whether you can get a loan — and how much you will have to pay to borrow money.  You want a copy of your annual credit report to:

• make sure the information is complete, accurate, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a car or house, buy insurance, or apply for a job.
• help guard against identity theft. That’s when someone uses your personal information — like your name, your Social Security number, or your credit card number — to commit fraud. Identity thieves may use your information to open a new credit card account in your name. Then, when they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Inaccurate information like that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Are there any other situations where I might be eligible for a free report?

Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, and you request your credit report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting company. You’re also entitled to 1 free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you up to $10.50 for another copy of your report within a  twelve month period.

To buy a copy of your report, contact:

• Equifax:1-800-685-1111; equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742; experian.com
• TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800; transunion.com

Should I get a report from all three nationwide consumer reporting companies?

It’s up to you. Because consumer reporting companies get their information from different sources, the information in your report from one company may not reflect all, or the same, information in your reports from the other two companies. That’s not to say that the information in any of your reports is necessarily inaccurate; it just may be different.

Should I order my reports from all three of the nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time?

You may order one, two, or all three reports at the same time, or you may stagger your requests. It’s your choice. Some financial advisors say staggering your reports during a 12-month period may be a good way to keep an eye on the completeness and accuracy of the information on your reports.

What if I find errors — either inaccuracies or incomplete information — in my credit report?

Under the FCRA, both the report­ing company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To take full advantage of your rights under this law, contact the consumer reporting company and the information provider.

1. Advise the consumer reporting company, in writing, what information you think is incomplete or inaccurate.

   Consumer reporting companies must investigate the items in question — usually within 30 days — unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all the relevant data you provide about the inaccuracy to the organization that provided the information. After the information provider receives notice of a dispute from the consumer reporting company, it must investigate, review the relevant information, and report the results back to the consumer reporting company. If the information provider finds the disputed information is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide consumer reporting companies so they can correct the information in your file.

   When the investigation is complete, the consumer reporting company must give you the written results and a free copy of your report if the dispute results in a change. (This free report does not count as your annual free report under the FACT Act.) If an item is changed or deleted, the consumer reporting company cannot put the disputed information back in your file unless the information provider verifies that it is accurate and complete. The consumer reporting company also must send you written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the information provider.

2. Tell the creditor or other information provider in writing that you dispute an item. Many providers specify an address for disputes. If the provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company, it must include a notice of your dispute. And if you are correct — that is, if the information is found to be inaccurate — the information provider may not report it again.

What can I do if the consumer reporting company or information provider won’t correct the information I dispute?

If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the consumer reporting company, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports. You also can ask the consumer reporting company to provide your state­ment to anyone who received a copy of your report in the recent past. You can expect to pay a fee for this service.

If you tell the information provider that you dispute an item, a notice of your dispute must be included any time the information provider reports the item to a consumer reporting company.

How long can a consumer reporting company report negative information?

A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. There is no time limit on reporting information about crimi­nal convictions; information reported in response to your application for a job that pays more than $75,000 a year; and information reported because you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance. Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, which­ever is longer.