Credit Reporting Bureaus
The best way to find out about your credit score is to contact a credit reporting bureau. There are three credit reporting companies that gather information about individuals in the United States. They are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each of these companies collects financial information from a variety of sources and enters it into their data base. The information is then assigned a credit rating based on a number of factors, including how much credit you have available to you and the amount of available credit you make use of. They also take into account whether or not you have been late in making valid payments on outstanding loans. The credit reporting bureaus also take note of whether or not you’ve ever declared bankruptcy. In order to find out your credit score, you need to contact the credit reporting agencies and request your credit score.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
In 2003, the President of the United States signed into law the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, commonly called the FACT Act. This was an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows individuals to have access to their credit score for free once each year. This law requires the credit agencies--Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion--to provide free of charge a copy of your credit report simply by contacting one of the agencies. They are to supply one common point of contact so you can get your credit score from all three agencies with only one telephone call, written request, or by going online and visiting the Internet website; www.annualcreditreport.com. By following the information on the website, you will receive a copy of your credit report.
ChoicePoint, Inc. - Lexis/Nexis
ChoicePoint, Inc. was a private company that compiled financial information on individuals throughout the country until it was purchased by Reed Elsevier (www.reedelsevier.com), who is the parent company of Lexis/Nexis. ChoicePoint is a supplier of information to numerous government agencies, including local law enforcement. They provided a secure method of accessing financial, as well as other types, of information. Their parent company, Lexis/Nexis, has long been recognized as the premier source of personal information that has been compiled by various agencies over the years. For a fee, you can gain access to the personal and financial information of millions of individuals. You can find out personal information such as Social Security Number, date of birth, titles, liens, judgments of liability, address history, or criminal background. This information can be used to help determine whether or not you are a good credit risk. Knowing this information about yourself can help you decide whether or not you’re ready to apply for a loan, or decide if applying for a job where a background check and credit check are performed will reveal anything you don’t want known.
Your Reputation Is Important
Although we live in an age where nearly anyone can find out almost anything about anybody else, there is a lot of false and misleading information floating around, especially in cyber space. Because your reputation is important, you want to make sure that any information concerning you is fair and accurate. Anyone can post whatever they feel like on the Internet and in most cases the rules of slander and liable aren’t applicable because a vast majority of derogatory posts are done anonymously. Once they’re posted on a website, frequently under the guise of an ‘opinion,’ it is difficult if not impossible to remove them. And even if they are removed, the damage to your reputation may already be done, which could adversely affect your credit rating. Performing a credit check on yourself may reveal whether or not your reputation has been damaged. Fortunately there are resources available to you that could help alleviate the problem. Websites such as ReputationDefender.com (www.reputation.com) may be able to help restore your good name and thus your credit rating.
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