Credit Scores and Credit Reports, by Evan Hendricks

Chapter 4:

Obtaining Your Credit Report

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files,           
We'd like to help you learn about yourself...           

- Simon & Garfunkel  
"Mrs. Robinson"  

In this chapter, we will explain how to order copies of your credit report⁴⁶ and credit scores from the newly created "Centralized Source," either by mail, by phone, or via the Internet. We will also explain how to order them directly from Equifax, Experian, Trans Union, and Fair Isaac. If you want contact information right away, go directly to page 75, and to page 85 for Fair Isaac.

By September of 2005, all Americans will be entitled to obtain one free copy per year of their Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union credit reports from the "Centralized Source" (credit scores are not included and always come with a price). The free report and the Centralized Source were mandated by Congress when it passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act). The goal of the law is to improve credit report accuracy and fairness by encouraging Americans to review their credit reports.

⁴⁶ Technically, the CRAs define the report they give to you as a "consumer disclosure." The version that is given to their subscribers, the credit grantors, when you apply for credit, is defined as a "credit report." For simplicity and stylistic purposes, we will generally refer to "consumer disclosures" as "credit reports."

To further this goal, Congress left in place all of the existing reasons that consumers were entitled to free reports (see pages 75-76).

The bottom line: If you know your rights, you can regularly check your credit report throughout the year at little or no cost. This is a significant advance, considering that Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and others each charge between $89-$119 annually for ongoing credit report monitoring services.

This chapter should help cost-conscious consumers figure out the most economical way to obtain their credit reports. For those whom "cost is not an issue," this chapter should help them decide the fastest way to get the most complete picture.

Author's Note: At the time you read this book, you might not yet be entitled to your free report under Federal law. Still, anyone can go online and get their Experian report for free, but you must sign up for a 30-day trial at www.freecreditreport.com and provide a credit card number. If you fail to cancel by the 30th day, your credit card will be charged $12 a month until you do cancel.

The Centralized Source - Contact Information

Remember, you can order your free report from one, two or all three of the CRAs by mail, by phone or over the Internet. Here's the contact information.

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30374-5281
1-877-322-8228
www.annualcreditreport.com

Once you are eligible, you can request your free report by mail, by phone or over the Internet. You can choose to order your Equifax, Experian and Trans Union reports all at once, or, you can order only one of three bureaus first, and then request a second one months later, and the third one after that. If you stagger your requests by four months, you effectively monitor your credit report three times per year. If you are not planning a major credit transaction like a mortgage, refinancing or auto purchase, then the staggered approach might be best, as it permits you to periodically monitor your credit report for signs of identity theft (see Chapter 7).

However, if you are planning a major credit purchase in the coming months, it's probably best to get all three at once. Remember, authoritative research by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the National Credit Reporting Association (NCRA) showed there could be major discrepancies between the three bureau reports for any given consumer (see Chapters 2 & 10).

Free Report Rollout Schedule

The Federal Trade Commission said it was concerned that allowing everyone in the country to get their free credit report all at once would risk a system crash or other problems. It therefore set a phased-in rollout that entitled residents in Western states first, followed by the Midwest, the South and the East, in three-month intervals, accordingly:

• West - December 1, 2004⁴⁷


• Midwest - March 1, 2005⁴⁸


• South - June 1, 2005⁴⁹


• East - September 1, 2005.⁵⁰

⁴⁷ Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming
⁴⁸ Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin

How To Order Through The Centralized Source

When you first go to www.annualcreditreport.com, you must specify your state of residence so the system can know whether you are eligible for a free report. Once you enter an eligible state, you are asked to provide your identifying data: name, date-of-birth, Social Security number (SSN), address, city, and zip code. There is a box to click if you only want your report to list the last five digits of your SSN. If you have lived at your current residence fewer than two years, it asks for your previous address. For security purposes, a random, seven-digit number that is displayed must be read and typed into a box.

Then you go to the page where you choose which of three bureau reports you want to get first. The names of Experian, Equifax and Trans Union rotate so each takes its turn at top of the list. After you finish ordering your report from the first bureau of choice, you can order a report from a second bureau by finding the link: "Return to AnnualCreditReport.com."

Equifax - Online

Equifax's Web site first authenticates the identifying data you provided to the centralized source, and then proceeds to ask an additional question for authentication purposes, for example, the name of the company to which you pay your mortgage. Accordingly, prior to using the centralized source, it is a good idea to review your financial accounts, including credit cards, mortgages and auto loans, so you can answer these types of authentication questions.

⁴⁹ Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas
⁵⁰ Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, Puerto Rico and all other U.S. Territories and Possessions

When you pass the authentication test, Equifax then informs you that its site is the only one connected to the centralized source where you can buy your FICO score. It advises visitors as to why the FICO score is important. The price: $6.95.

Next, you are asked if you would like to be able to view your credit report online free for 30 days. If you answer yes, you then must enter a user ID and password. Finally, you are offered free access to "Equifax Credit Rankings," which shows where your FICO scores ranks (if you purchased it), or where your level of debt ranks (if you don't buy your FICO score).

Equifax also asks you if you want to receive offers and information. If you don't want this, make sure you check the "opt out" box.

The online credit report is divided into eight sections:

1. Personal (identifying) information;
2. Credit summary;
3. Account information;
4. Inquiries;
5. Collections;
6. Public Records;
7. Dispute File Information; and
8. Summary of FCRA Rights. You can click on any of these categories to view your data; toward the bottom, there's a button for printing out the entire report. (Next chapter, we'll discuss reading and understanding your report.)

Experian — Online

For authentication, Experian first asked for the last four digits of the SSN. Then it asked four multiple-choice questions:

1. county of residence
2. street
3. company holding my auto loan and (4) amount of monthly auto loan payment.

(The correct answer to the last three questions was "None of the above.")

The Experian report was divided into six categories:

1. Report Summary
2. Potentially Negative Items;
3. Accounts in Good Standing
4. Requests for Your Credit History
5. Personal Information (6) Your Personal Statement.

The difference between Experian and the other two was that Experian did not try to start selling you additional products or services before you obtained your credit report. Instead, it promoted these items on the left and right sidebars of the front of your credit report. These services included your PLUS Credit Score for $5, and "Triple Alert," in which ConsumerInfo.com "watches over all 3 of your national credit files and scans for key changes." ($4.95 per month) At Triple Alert, you must opt out from receiving promotional offers.

On the right sidebars, "Credit Score Basics" takes you to an explanation of what's in a credit report and lets you view a sample report. It also introduces you to "Ask Max," a free, online column in which Maxine Sweet, Experian's vice president of public affairs, answers questions about credit scores and credit reports. Another sidebar has tips about disputing errors in your report online. (In Chapter 6, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of disputing in writing, by phone or online.) Experian's Credit Report Basics also promotes "Credit Manager," its online monitor-ing service that includes the Plus Score ($9.95 per month; $119.40 per year); as well as the Three-bureau report and Plus Score ($34.95). One offering you should not want is the Experian credit report and Plus score for $14.95. By coming through www.annualcreditreport.com you received your report for free, and could have purchased your Plus score for $5. And, if you sign up for the Credit Manager 30-day trial, you get the Plus score for free - provided you remember to cancel your subscription before the trial expires.

Trans Union - Online

On "Opening Day" (Dec. 1, 2004), we were part way through being authenticated at Trans Union when the system froze and would not let us complete the order for a free credit report. When we returned a few days later, the Trans Union site kept asking for additional authentication information, including credit card account numbers. The problem was that even when the correct American Express account number was provided, Trans Union would still not authenticate our tester. We also saw that the tester's Experian report had an incorrect American Express account number. This showed how inaccuracies can prevent authentication, and thereby prevent consumers from gaining access to their reports. Eventually, we gave up on the Web site and ordered his report through the toll free number (see below).

The Trans Union Web site charges $5.95 for a TrueCredit score, but does not sell a FICO score.

In order to send you promos in the future, the site has a box checked next to the statement, "You will receive a free monthly newsletter loaded with important credit education as well as valuable product offers provided by our subsidiaries and partners."

If you don't want this, you must uncheck this box.

By Phone (1-877-322-8228) When you call the toll-free number for ordering your report, the automated voice menu walks you through a series of steps to authenticate your identity. If you pass the authentication test, it will send the report or reports you ordered to your home address. After it confirms your home phone number, the automated voice advises that you can get your report instantly at www.annualcreditreport.com. Also, you can get instructions on how to order your reports in writing by pressing "1."

To continue, it asks you to press "1" if you are calling from your home phone. (When you call toll free numbers, a technology known as Automatic Number Identification (ANI) records the number you're calling from, much like Caller ID captures the caller's phone number). If you are not calling from home (press "2"), you can still go to the next step by entering your home phone.

Then, the automated voice says the address it has for you and asks if it is correct (Press "1"). It repeats this process for your last name and first name. Next, it asks if you have been at your current address for more than two years. If you press no, it asks for your previous address. Then, you must say or punch in your SSN. You can also tell them to only include the last four digits of your SSN on the credit report they send you.

Next, enter your date-of-birth. Provided that everything checks out, you then choose whether you want one, two, or all three of your credit reports mailed to you. To order in writing, send a letter with your full name, including middle initial and generational suffix (i.e., Sr./Jr.), current address, SSN, and date-of-birth. You must specify which bureau report you want, or whether you want two or all three.

At the Web site, you can download a "Request Form" for requesting your report(s) in writing: www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf

How Did It Work?

Considering that on its first day the centralized source was receiving up to 500 requests per minute, it should be no surprise that it got off to a rocky start. None of the 10 people who contacted this author said they had a problem-free experience, as none were able to obtain all three credit reports online. Still, these people had the option of ordering them through the toll-free telephone number or by mail. Consistent with our tester's experience, MSNBC reported that Equifax's system had performed the best. At Experian's site, it was common to get an error message: "No backend server available for connection: timed out after 10 seconds."

One major frustration raised by several MSNBC.com users: They got about halfway through the process of getting their Experian report, then were booted out of the system, and when they returned they were told they already had received their free report for the year. A message on the Web site then urged them to pay for a fresh copy.⁵¹

Another frustration was that the centralized source installed a security measure that blocked pro-consumer Web sites, including those of the Consumer Union, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), from linking to the centralized source. But within a few days, EPIC's Chris Jay Hoofnagle came up with a method to bypass the block so visitors to www.epic.org could link to the centralized source. The method was promptly adopted by www.ConsumersUnion.org and www.privacyrights.org.

Nonetheless, those groups and others sent a Dec. 7, 2004 letter to the FTC protesting the link-blocking as a violation of FACT Act because it undermined the Centralized Source's purpose of facilitating consumer access to their free credit reports.

They scoffed at the security rationale, stating, "If there is a justification to block links to the free site, why are the credit reporting agencies not blocking links to their for-profit sites?"

The groups assailed the Centralized Source for using the term "free annual credit file disclosures," instead of "free credit report," because it reduced the likelihood of consumers finding the Web site through search engines. The Source also lacked "meta tags," the key words that enable Web surfers to find what they're looking for through search engines, the groups charged.

⁵¹ Bob Sullivan, "Glitches Mar Launch of Free Credit Report Site," MSNBC.com, Dec. 2, 2004; www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6576905/
⁵² Letter to Joel Winston, Assoc. Dir., FTC Financial Practices Div.; www.epic.org/privacy/fcra/freereportltr.html

"Indeed, a Google search for 'free credit report' leads to an array of free-to-pay conversion sites that advertise free credit reports, but really deliver expensive, unnecessary credit monitoring, such as Experian's Consumerinfo.com."

"Whether intentional or not, every subtle and not so subtle web design tactic has been employed to make www.annualcreditreport.com difficult to find and use. It appears this is unlikely to have occurred by accident, because many of the tactics represent bad web design, mistakes that only beginner HTML authors would make," the groups wrote.

The protest worked. By March 2005, after an inquiry by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) the three CRAs agreed to cure many of the problems.

Despite the glitches, it seemed clear that the advent of the Centralized Source had resulted in the greatest number of Americans ordering their credit reports in a single week - and by an overwhelming margin. In their own defense, the Big Three CRAs reminded critics that never before in history had private companies been required to provide their own products to so many people, at the same time, for free.

Obtaining Your Credit Report Directly From 'Big Three'

If you are not yet entitled to a free report from the centralized source, or if you've already used yours up, then you need to order reports directly from the Big Three CRAs.

Make sure you review all of the reasons that you are entitled to free additional reports (they're listed after the contact information). For instance, if you live in one of seven states granting you a right to annual free report from each CRA, then you can monitor your reports throughout the year without paying.

⁵³ The CRAs have changed the toll-free number from time to time.

Here are the toll-free phone numbers,⁵³ mailing addresses and Web sites for ordering your report directly the three "major repositories," and the separate numbers and addresses for reporting fraud:

Equifax - www.equifax.com
To order your report, call: 800-685-1111 or write:
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
To report fraud, call: 800-525-6285 and write:
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Hearing Impaired: 1-800-255-0056, ask operator to call
1-800-685-1111 to request a copy of your report.

Experian - www.experian.com
To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write:
P.O. Box 2002, Allen TX 75013
To report fraud, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) and write:
P.O. Box 9530, Allen TX 75013 TDD: 1-800-972-0322

Trans Union - www.transunion.com
To order your report, call: 800-888-4213 or write:
P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
To report fraud, call: 800-680-7289 and write:
Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790,
Fullerton, CA 92634 TDD: 1-877-553-7803

Additional Rights To Free Reports

Here are the other reasons that consumers are entitled to free reports in addition to their annual free report under the FACT Act.

• You've been turned down for credit or insurance or otherwise experience an unfavorable change (known as an "adverse action") in the terms of your credit or insurance in the past 60 days.


• You are a victim of identity theft or have reason to believe that inaccurate data are in your credit report because of fraud.


• You are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days.


• If you are on public welfare assistance.


• If an adverse decision related to your employment has been made based in whole or in part on information contained in the report.


• If your report has been revised based upon an investigation you requested.


• You live in a state with a free credit report law: Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, or Vermont, and Georgia (Georgians are entitled to two free reports per year).

After Free Reports Used Up: $9

If you've already obtained all of the free reports to which you are entitled, then the federally-regulated price for buying an additional credit report is $9.50⁵⁴. Prior to the FACT Act, these states capped the prices accordingly: Minnesota ($3); Connecticut ($5); Calif. ($8), and Montana ($8.50)⁵⁵.

It's generally easy to order your credit report directly from the Big Three CRAs. If your address matches the one they have on file, you can order over their toll-free numbers by following the push-button prompts. Their Web sites ask you the same type of authentication questions as does www.annualcreditreport.com. If you order your report by mail, your request must include your name, address, SSN, and copies of a driver's license and current utility bill.

⁵⁴ The price is set by the statute, the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. Sect. 1681, and by FTC regulations.
⁵⁵ A complete listing of state prices can be found at http://annualcreditreport.transunion.com/pdf/DisclosureRequest.pdf

Extra! Extra! Credit Scores Not Included

As mentioned before, the FACT Act did not mandate free credit scores. It only required that CRAs charge a "fair and reasonable price" for them⁵⁶. When the Centralized Source launched, Equifax charged $6.95 for a FICO score; Trans Union charged $4.95 for a True Credit score; Experian charged $5.

One of the only ways to get a free score was to sign up for a 30-day trial at Experian's Web site entitling you to a PLUS score. Remember, the PLUS score is not a FICO score, and could vary significantly. Even the FICO score you get from Equifax can differ from the score ultimately used by a lender to whom you have applied for credit. Moreover, if you don't cancel before the 30-day trial, Experian will charge your credit card for an annual subscription. If cost is your priority, then these subscription services are probably not the best deal.

Credit Monitoring and Other Web Site Services

It should be no surprise that the three major CRAs try to push the monitoring services. After all, they've discovered it's a great way to make money. This is a major shift, as the CRA traditionally looked at consumers as an added cost of doing business⁵⁷, and only made money by selling credit reports and other data to businesses. Starting in 2001, all three CRAs said that the direct sale of credit reports and credit scores had "taken off nicely."⁵⁸ One analyst said CRA direct-to-consumer sales would reach roughly $600 million in 2002 and could easily reach $1 billion by 2005. In September 2002 Experian's Consumer Direct websites had 9.79 million unique visitors, Equifax had 922,000 hits, Trans Union 523,000, and TrueCredit 239,000.⁵⁹

Both Equifax and Experian offered 30-day free trials for their monitoring services, but only Experian included a PLUS credit score. This meant it was one of the few places you could obtain a credit scores for free - provided that you remembered to cancel your subscription before the 30-day trial period ended. PrivacyGuard offered a two-month trial for $1 that included ongoing access to all three reports, and FICO scores from all three CRAs. If you forgot to cancel, your credit card was billed $12.95 per month for a year.⁶⁰

If you sign up for a monitoring service, and you don't want to receive spam or junk mail offers from these companies or their affiliates, you must remember to "opt out" from having your name sold or used for these purposes.⁶¹ Other potential pitfalls to watch out for are "binding arbitration clauses," designed to block you from going to court if there is a dispute.

The Equifax Credit Watch Gold includes notification to either your e-mail, cell phone or other wireless device within 24 hours of changes in your credit report. The Equifax Web page also contains an archive of past newsletters that explain updates of products and services, as well as testimonials from subscribers and other news.

⁵⁶ The FTC must determine what is "fair and reasonable," but had not done so by the time this book went to print. The FTC appeared to lean in favor of the $5-8 market price for credit scores, even though lenders often pay well under $1 for them.
⁵⁷ In one lawsuit, Equifax estimated it costs $7.50 to process a request and send a consumer his credit report. Clark, et al. v. Equifax, et al. (U.S. District Ct. For S. Carolina - No. 8:00-1217-22)
⁵⁸ Elayne Robertson Demby, "Letting Consumers Know the Score - and More." Credit and Collections World (undated) http://www.creditcollectionsworld.com/cgi-bin/readstory2.pl?story=20030203CCRU943.xml.
⁵⁹ Ibid
⁶⁰ www.privacyguard.com is owned by Trilegiant Corp., (877) 202-8828
⁶¹ At www.equifax.com, go to "Member Center;" at www.experian.com, go to "privacy" and then to "opting out;" www.transunion.com says that TU does not sell data to outside parties and is silent on sharing with affiliates.

Experian's 'Credit Manager'

The monthly price for Experian's Credit Manager is $9.95 (or $119.40 per year). It offers email notification when new data are added to your credit report, ongoing access to your Experian credit report and your PLUS credit score, along with a score simulator, explanations about your score, "helpful tips," other consumer education material, and an online dispute process. Another feature at the Experian Web site is "Ask Max," a biweekly column in which Maxine Sweet, Experian's Vice President of Public Affairs answers questions from Consumers.⁶²

A drawback of this service is that the PLUS Score is not the same - and can differ significantly - from the more widely used FICO score.

The online version has a completely different layout than your traditional paper credit report. In fact, if you've never seen your paper report, and your first access is to the online version, you might not know what to look for, or you might overlook important details.

High Risk vs. Low Risk

The Experian Credit Manager shows your PLUS Credit Score at the top right half of the computer screen, with an arrow indicating where you stand on a scale from a positive "low risk," to "medium-low risk," to "medium risk," to the more negative "medium-high risk," and the sub-prime "high risk." The Manager offers explanations as to how your credit score was calculated and what you can do to improve it. (More on this in a bit.)

⁶² Maxine Sweet heads the Experian Consumer Advisory Council, on which this author has served as a member

At the top left, it lists your current debt:

• Revolving (credit cards and store cards)


• Installment (fixed payment loans, like personal or auto loans)


• Real Estate (mortgages)


• Total Debt

The next column is the Credit Monitor, which is supposed to notify you if there have been significant changes or new activity on your credit report.

The next column lists your credit information.

• Percentage of Credit Currently Available (total of credit limits on all of your accounts or "trade lines," subtracted by total credit used)


• Satisfactory accounts (paid on time)


• Delinquent/derogatory accounts (failed to pay on time)


• Amount still past due (still owed)


• Public records (usually very negative: bankruptcy, court judgments over collection accounts, etc.)


• No inquiries in past 6 months (if there were inquiries, they would relate to companies that pulled your credit report in order to evaluate you because you applied for credit with them)

Online Disputes

The Credit Manager permits you to dispute trade lines while you are online. To file a dispute, select an account or public record item and click the blue "Dispute this item" button next to the inaccurate account or public record. You can then choose one of Experian's ten dispute reasons (e.g., "Payment Never Late," "Belongs To Ex-Spouse," "Un- authorized signature") or provide a written explanation. The advantage is, it allows the information to be forwarded immediately to the creditor and can help your credit score improve at least temporarily. The disadvantage is that online, you are unable to provide supporting documentation, which may bolster your dispute and, theoretically, persuade Experian or the creditor to delete the disputed account.

You can click on each of these categories to check the accuracy of information. Clearly, you want to pay close attention to delinquent/derogatory trade lines, and to any public records data, which usually is negative. Also, check to see if all of your creditors are reporting your positive payment history, or if they are reporting it in the most positive way.

Capital One

For example, it was revealed in 2003 that Capital One, a leading credit card company, did not report credit limits to the CRAs, only the amount owed. If you owed $3,000 on your Capital One account, but had a credit limit of $6,000, by not reporting the credit limit, Capital One could make it appear that you had reached your limit and were "maxed out" at $3,000. Generally, the high balance is substituted for the missing credit limit. So, if in future months, you continued to run up your balances just short of $3,000, you would continue to appear to be "maxed out." (Capital One has been criticized for this practice, but had not changed it at the time this book went to print. See Chapter 22 for details.)

'Credit Header' Data

It's also important to check your identifying information, known as "Above The Line," or "Credit Header" data because it's the first thing you see on a paper credit report.⁶³ Click on the "View My Credit Report" tab, and click on the link to "personal information." This is where you check the accuracy of your name, SSN, date-of-birth, address, previous addresses, type of residence, employer, drivers' license number, and telephone number (it's not unusual for the credit report to include unlisted or unpublished numbers).

⁶³ This is true for Equifax and Trans Union; Experian lists identifying data towards the end of its paper version.

Inaccurate identifying information has been known to cause the mis-merging of two separate credit histories. Even accurate identifying data can lead to mis-merging if there are enough similarities between you and another person. (More on this in Chapters 8 & 10).

Credit Score Simulator

The Credit Score Simulator is a useful tool for gaining an idea of how your credit would go up or down if you took certain actions. Caution! This is only a general education tool, as the simulator will not tell you precisely what your credit score is. Precision can be important for major credit moves, like mortgages, refinancing, and auto loans. The lack of precision is particularly evident when using non-FICO scores, like Experian's PLUS Score, or the TrueCredit Score available at Trans Union's Web site.

Still the Experian simulator will give you a general idea how much your credit score will rise if you reduce your credit card debt, delete a derogatory payment, or make any number of moves.

Scoring Factors

Also helpful are all the explanations of the factors that affect your score provided by Experian's credit manager. Web sites of Equifax, Trans Union, and Fair Isaac (myFico.com) provide similar services.

Here are some random examples of positive factors provided by Credit Manager.

• Having higher than average credit limits on your bank cards indicate that most lenders consider you a lower risk and are willing to trust you with more credit compared to others in your credit category.


• With three or more credit accounts on your report, you have established significant number of credit relationships-a fact that is favorably viewed by lenders.


• You do not have derogatory information, such as collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy reported on your credit report. Continue to pay all your bills on time, which should allow you to maintain and improve your credit score.


• On average, your accounts have been open more than five years. This positively affects your credit score. Having long-term credit accounts that you consistently pay on time is one important indicator of stability to lenders.


• Having few, if any installment loans, reduces your number of fixed payments. This makes it easier for you to meet other debt obligations and positively influences your credit score.

Here are some random examples of negative factors provided by Credit Manager.

• Outstanding credit balances on your revolving accounts are higher than the average consumer in your credit category. Most lenders view this negatively because it may show that you are taking on too much debt. By avoiding taking on too much debt and paying down your total debt as soon as you can, your credit score will usually improve.


• You are (or have been) late by 30 days or more in paying one or more of your credit accounts. Being late on any bill, for any length of time, is a possible indication of future non-payment and is almost always viewed negatively by lenders.


• Any late payments will remain on your credit report for up to seven years. Paying any overdue bills immediately and paying all future bills on time can help avoid further erosion to your credit score.


• Applying for credit in the last two years-even once-can negatively affect your credit score because it may indicate that you are taking on new debt. Therefore, it is best to apply for new credit only when it is truly needed.

In addition to the Credit Manager (30-day free trial, $89.95 per year thereafter), Experian at its Web site sells:

• $14.95 - Experian Credit Report and PLUS Score


• $34.95 - TU, Equifax, & Experian (3-in-1) Report and PLUS Score

Trans Union

• $14.95 - TU Credit Report, plus TrueCredit score, "personalized tips for improvement and custom analysis of your debt and income."


• $29.95 - TU, Equifax, & Experian (3-in-1) Tri-Merge Credit Reports, plus TrueCredit Score from TU Report.


• $39.90 - The above package, plus TrueCredit scores for all three bureaus.


• $10.95 - Three-month credit report-monitoring service, including "quarterly online access to your credit report with analytical tools, weekly fraud-watch emails, $25,000 in identity theft insurance, and toll-free ID Theft Specialists with fraud resolution service."

For a summary of all TU's offers, go to: http://www.transunion.com/Personal/PersonalSolutions.jsp

Equifax

• $14.95 - 30-day online access to snapshot⁶⁴ of your credit report, plus FICO score, explanation and tips.


• $29.95 - All Three Bureaus' (3-in-1) Report


• $39.95 - Equifax 3-in-1 with FICO Score. Includes simulator allowing you to see what your score would be if you paid off debt or took other actions, self-help tips, and toll-free access to "customer care."


• $99.95 (Annual) or $9.95 (Monthly) - Equifax Credit Watch Gold: Daily e-mail alerts of key changes in credit reports, $20,000 in identity theft insurance, access to live customer support and unlimited credit reports (30-day free trial available).


• $49.95 (Annual) or $4.95 (Monthly) - Credit Watch Silver: Weekly alerts of key file changes, $2,500 identity theft insurance (deductible applies), and one initial credit report.

Fair Isaac (www.myfico.com)

• $39.95 - All Three Bureaus' (3-in-1) Credit Report with FICO score (based on TU report), plus "dynamic score simulator," explanation of score, and helpful tips.


• $12.95 - Any one bureau report, plus FICO score, including online access to one "snapshot" of your credit report for 30 days.


• $38.95 - All Three Bureaus' (3-in-1) Credit Report with FICO score at each bureau, including online access to one "snapshot" of your credit report for 30 days-plus "dynamic score simulator," explanation of score, and helpful tips.


• $24.95 - FICO Savers For Homebuyers. Claims to give you "inside information that mortgage industry professionals use;" allows you to print a "financial certificate" to share with lenders and obtain a detailed property report for the home you're considering.


• $89.95 - ID Fraud Intercept. Provides e-mail alerts. Analyzes TU credit report, plus 400 different sources of public and commercial data, looking for (unauthorized) changes in your personal data. In addition to credit bureaus, the service searches "utilities, property deeds and assessment, bankruptcy filings, vehicle data, and other public sources."

⁶⁴ "Snapshot" means that for 30 days, you can keep accessing the credit report as it appeared the first day you accessed it.

The Sky's The Limit

This brief description illustrates that you have the option of spending a lot of money to monitor your credit information. As some have noted, the consumer reporting agencies are well-positioned, as they receive consumer data from creditors for free, and then make money selling the information back to both creditors and consumers.

But as this chapter should also make clear, a well-informed consumer can at least occasionally check his or her credit report at minimal or no cost. For some consumers, obtaining their credit report is the easy part. The real challenge begins when they discover errors and try to get them fixed.

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© 2005 Evan Hendricks and Privacy Times, Inc. All rights reserved.