Table of Contents

1. How do I apply for membership?
2. Where can I find more information about my credit history?
3. Why doesn’t my credit history show up on all three credit bureaus?
4. Who can order a Credit Report?
5. How long do Bankruptcies and other bad debt report?
6. When is a good time to check my credit?
7. Consumer Bill of Rights
8. Information Request Form

1. the granting of credit
2. the collection of a debt
3. the underwriting of insurance
4. employment purposes
5. for issuing a license as required by some government agencies
6. for a legitimate business transaction between a business and a consumer that is initiated by the consumer

5. How long do bankruptcies and other bad debt report?

The following statue of limitations has been provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Type	Limitation
1. Bankruptcies	7 Years from the date of entry of the order for relief.
2. Suits & Judgements	10 Years from date of entry or expiration of applicable statue of limitations, whichever is longer.
3. Tax Liens - Paid	7 Years from date of payment
4. Tax Liens - Unpaid	No Limitation
5. Collections	7 Years
6. Charged to Profit & Loss	7 Years
7. Criminal Record Limitations	No limitation on criminal conviction.
8. Other Adverse Information	7 Years

6. When is a good time to check my credit?

• Many people don’t realize their credit history is incorrect until they are trying to make a major purchase like buying a home or an automobile. So, the suggested time to check your credit is once yearly.

7. Consumer Bill of Rights

The Federal Trade Commission enforces credit laws that protect consumer’s rights to obtain, use, and maintain credit. The Fair Credit Reporting Act was designed to help ensure credit reporting agencies furnish correct and complete information to businesses to use when evaluating a consumer’s application.  Under the FCRA:

• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses information from a credit reporting agency to take action against you – such as denying an application for credit, insurance, or employment – must tell you, and give you the name, address, and phone number of the credit reporting agency that provided the credit report.
• You can find out what is in your file. At your request, a credit reporting agency must give you the information in your file, and a list of everyone who has requested it recently. There is no charge for the report if a person has taken action against you because of information supplied by the credit reporting agency, if you request the report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. You also are entitled to one free report every twelve months upon request if you certify that (1) you are unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days; (2) you are on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate due to fraud.
• You can dispute inaccurate information with the credit reporting agency. If you tell a credit reporting agency that your file contains inaccurate information, the credit reporting agency must investigate the items (usually within 30 days) by presenting its information and all relevant evidence you submit, to the source unless your dispute is frivolous. The source must review your evidence and report its findings to the credit reporting agency. (The source also must advise national credit reporting agencies – to which it has provided the data – of any error.)  The credit reporting agency must give you a written report of the investigation and a copy of your report if the investigation results in any change. If the credit reporting agency’s investigation does not resolve the dispute, you may add a brief statement to your file. The credit reporting agency must normally include a summary of your statement in future reports. If an item is deleted or a dispute statement is filed, you may ask that anyone who has recently received your report be notified of the change.
• Inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted. A credit reporting agency must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information from its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it. However, the credit reporting agency is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it is outdated (as described below) or cannot be verified.  If your dispute results in any change to your report, the credit reporting agency cannot reinstate into your file a disputed item unless the information source verifies its accuracy  and completeness, In addition, the  credit reporting agency must give you a written notice telling you it has reinserted the item. The notice must include the name, address and phone number of the information source.
• You can dispute inaccurate items with the source of the information. If you tell anyone – such as a creditor who reports to a credit reporting agency – that you dispute an item, they may not then report the information to a credit reporting agency without including a notice of your dispute. In addition, once you’ve notified the source of the error in writing, it may not continue to report the information if it is, in fact, an error.
• Outdated information may not be reported. In most cases, a credit reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old; ten years for bankruptcies.
• Access to your file is limited. A credit reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a need recognized by the FCRA – usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business.
• Your consent is required for reports that are provided to employers, or reports that contain medical information. A credit reporting agency may not give our information about you to your employer, or prospective employer, without your written consent. A credit reporting agency may not report medical information about you to creditors, insurers, or employers without your permission.
• You may choose to exclude your name from credit reporting agency lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers. Creditors and insurers may use file information as the basis for sending you unsolicited offers of credit or insurance. Such offers must include a toll-free phone number for you to call if you want your name and address removed from future lists. If you call, you must be kept off the lists for two years. If you request, complete and return the credit reporting agency form provided for this purpose, you must be taken off the lists indefinitely.
• You may seek damages from violators. If a credit reporting agency, a user or (in some cases) a provider of credit reporting agency data, violates the FCRA, you may sue them in state or federal court. For the complete text of the DCRA, 15 U>S>C> 1681-1681u and consumer rights, go to the Federal Trade Commission’s web site http://www.ftc.gov.