YOUR RIGHTS

The Fair Credit Reporting Act - As Amended 2003 (PDF File)

The Consumer Credit Protection Act (HTML)

State Consumer Protection Offices (HTML)

Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) (HTML)

Canadian Provincial Credit Reporting Act links (HTML)

OPT OUT OF MARKETING LISTS

In the US: To “opt out” of the selling of your information for marketing purposes by the Credit Bureaus: (1) go to www.optoutprescreen.com, (2) call 888.5OPTOUT (888.567.8688) , or (3) write each Credit Bureau using the Letter to Opt Out of Personal Information Release provided in the Sample Letter Index.  To remove your name from mailing and telephone lists obtained from other sources, you may want to contact the Direct Marketing Association.

In Canada:To remove your name from mailing and telephone lists, contact the Canadian Marketing Association.

From Free Credit Fixesr:

DOWNLOAD Sample Letters  (PDF Version)

Collection of Sample Letters for Credit Repair in one file.

PUBLICATIONS

From myFico.com:

Your Credit Scores (PDF File)

Developed jointly by Fair Isaac and Consumer Federation of America, this pamphlet provides a brief but complete overview of credit scoring, including factors that influence credit scores, where you can obtain your scores and tips on improving them.

Understanding Your FICO Score (PDF File)

This booklet provides a thorough description of credit scoring, including ways credit scoring can help you, the relationship between your credit report and your credit score, what a FICO® score considers, and interpreting your score.

From The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada:

Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score (PDF File | HTML version)

This publication provides key information on how to obtain and understand your credit report and score, as well as what to do if you find errors on your credit report.

Playing it Safe (PDF File)

How to Protect Your Credit Card and Credit History

From Equifax, Canada:

Sample Consumer Credit Report (PDF File)

Description of a Consumer Credit Report (PDF File)

Credit Report Request Form (PDF File)

Consumer Credit Report Update Form (PDF File)

From Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Program:

2003 FTC Survey on Identity Theft (PDF File)

FTC Releases Survey of Identity Theft in U.S. 27.3 Million Victims in Past 5 Years, Billions in Losses for Businesses and Consumers

‘Active Duty’ Alerts Help Protect Military Personnel from Identity Theft (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

ID Theft: What It’s All About (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

The FTC’s primer on identity theft. Includes how to minimize the risk of identity theft and basics on what to do if you are a victim.

Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

The FTC’s comprehensive guide for victims of identity theft. Includes the ID Theft Affidavit.

ID Theft Affidavit (PDF File)

This form helps you report an identity theft to your creditors.

What To Do If Your Personal Information Has Been Compromised (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

How to respond if your personal information is compromised when an organization’s security is breached.

Identity Crisis… What to Do If Your Identity Is Stolen (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

Four pages of advice on dealing with identity theft.

Identity Thieves Can Ruin Your Good Name: Tips for Avoiding Identity Theft (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

Basic tips on a wallet-sized card.

Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft (PDF File)

Summarizes your rights as a victim of identity theft.

How Not to Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

How to avoid online scammers who want to steal your personal information.

Getting Purse-onal: What To Do If Your Wallet or Purse Is Stolen (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

Basic advice on a single page.

Your Access to Free Credit Reports (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

Educates consumers about their right to a free copy of their credit reports. The brochure outlines the nine-month roll-out period that began on December 1, 2004; explains the ordering process by Web, toll-free telephone number, and postal address; and includes a copy of the standard credit report request form.

Privacy Choices for Your Personal Financial Information (PDF File) | (HTML Version)

Explains that federal law gives you the right to stop (opt out of) some sharing of your personal financial information, that you will receive privacy notices from financial institutions you do business with, and what to do when you receive the notices.

Credit Report Request

For use when requesting your credit report from the Credit Bureaus.

Credit Report Request--Denied Credit in Past

For use when requesting your credit report from the Credit Bureaus and you have been denied credit within the past 30 days.

Letter to Opt Out of Personal Information Release

For use when requesting your personal information not be released for marketing purposes.

Request For Removal Of Outdated Entries

Start with these items first, since they are the easiest to have removed.  Negative entries may only remain on your credit report for 7 years and bankruptcies for 10 years. Make sure they ARE removed, since the credit bureaus will not always do so on a timely basis.  They have approximately 30 days to respond, so be on the lookout for a new copy of your Credit Report in the mail!

Submission of Dispute

Try disputing ALL negative entries.  If they cannot be verified, they MUST be removed.  The creditors have 30 DAYS to respond to the credit bureau’s investigation.  If they do not, the item MUST be removed.  If you do not hear back from the Credit Bureau, FOLLOW UP.  The Credit Bureaus are usually right on time, but, just in case, keep track of when you send letters and when you receive their responses! (Note: I’ve never had to follow up. They’ve always responded back promptly.) You can combine this letter with the one above if you have both items to be disputed AND outdated entries.

Follow Up of Submission of Dispute

The creditors must respond to the credit bureau within 30 days. If you have not received an answer from the credit bureau...pursue! (Again, I’ve never had to.)

2nd Follow Up of Submission of Dispute

Send if the Credit Bureaus haven’t responded after the first follow up.

Request For Reinvestigation Of Disputed Item

Should the item you disputed NOT be removed and you KNOW it is inaccurate, request a reinvestigation and the name and address of the person who provided the verification to the credit bureau, so that you may follow up with them.

Request For Removal of Unauthorized Inquiries

Letter to the Credit Bureaus to remove unauthorized credit inquiries.

Settlement Agreement

Letter/Agreement to use when negotiating directly with a Creditor.

Statement Of Dispute To Be Included With Your Credit Report

If the negative entry IS accurate, but there were extenuating circumstances that you wish future creditors to be aware of, submit a “Statement of Dispute”.  This statement will be attached to your credit report and remain as long as the negative entry does.  (Note:  When the negative item is finally removed, double-check that the statement has been removed as well.  If not, write in and request that it be deleted.)

DOWNLOAD Sample Letters  (PDF Version)

Collection of all the above letters in one file.

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to obtain a copy of the credit report for:

Your Name
Your Current Address
Your Previous Address
Your Social Security Number
Your Date of Birth
Your Day and Evening Phone Numbers

I have enclosed copies of my driver’s license and social security card and the amount of fee fee.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

ENCLOSURE(S)

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

To Whom It May Concern:

I was denied credit within the past 30 days by Name of Creditor based on a credit report obtained from your company. Enclosed is a copy of the denial letter. Please send me a copy of my credit report as soon as possible.

Your Name
Your Current Address
Your Previous Address
Your Social Security Number
Your Date of Birth
Your Day and Evening Phone Numbers

I have enclosed copies of my driver’s license and social security card.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

ENCLOSURE(S)

Letter Date

Company Name
Company Address

To Whom It May Concern:

Please remove me from your marketing lists. My information is as follows:

Your Name
Your Current Address
Your Previous Address
Your Social Security Number
Your Date of Birth

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: Request for removal of outdated entries
ID#: if provided on credit report

Dear Sirs:

According to my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I am requesting that the outdated entries below be removed, as they pertain to:

Your Name
Your Current Address
Your Social Security Number
Your Date of Birth

Credit Report Date: Date

Outdated entries to be removed:

Creditor
Account Number

Please delete the above items from my credit report, in accords with the policy regarding the length of time such an item may remain on file.

Please return an updated report, showing these items have been removed.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

**Note: This letter may be adjusted to send to a Creditor as well as the Credit Bureaus**

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: Submission of dispute
ID#: if provided on credit report

To Whom It May Concern:

According to my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I am disputing the credit items below, as they pertain to:

Your Name
Your Current Address
SSN
DOB

Credit Report Date: Date

Items disputed:

Creditor
Account Number
**Statement of dispute, i.e. “This is not my account”, “This item is inaccurate”

Creditor
Account Number
**Statement of dispute, i.e. “This is not my account”, “This item is inaccurate”

Please return an updated credit report, showing these items have been corrected. Should verification NOT be provided to you within 30 days, I fully expect these items to be permanently deleted.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

**Note: This letter may be adjusted to send to a Creditor as well as the Credit Bureaus**

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: Follow Up of Submission of Dispute for: Your Name / Your SSN
ID#: if provided on credit report

Dear Sirs:

On Date, I requested verification of an item that appeared on my credit report. A copy of that letter is enclosed.

I have not received a response from you. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you MUST respond within a reasonable amount of time. If you have not responded because the items could not be verified, then I hereby demand that you immediately remove the disputed items from my credit report based on the fact that they are inaccurate or unverifiable.

Please send me an updated copy of my credit report.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

ENCLOSURE(S)

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: 2nd Follow Up of Submission of Dispute for: Your Name / Your SSN
ID#: if provided on credit report

Dear Sirs:

On Date, I sent you a follow-up letter stating that you had not responded to my original letter requesting an investigation into several disputed items on my credit report. Copies of the original letters are enclosed.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires your bureau, as a consumer reporting agency, maintain and insure that information “is fair and equitable to the consumer.” Also, the law stipulates that bureaus will maintain “accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information” (Section 602, 4b).

These requirements have not been met. You have not given me evidence that you have acted in a prompt and “fair and equitable” manner. You have not submitted evidence of investigation by giving me names and addresses of persons contacted, nor have you removed anything found inaccurate.

I, therefore, demand that you remove the disputed items, as inaccurate or unverifiable, from my credit report immediately and return an updated credit report, showing that you have done so. If within the next two weeks, I have not received your response, I will file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and retain an attorney to pursue my rights to recover damages.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

ENCLOSURE(S)

**Note: This letter may be adjusted to send to a Creditor as well as the Credit Bureaus**

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: Request for reinvestigation of disputed item
ID#: if provided on credit report

Dear Sirs:

Although you have previously investigated the item below, I am still in disagreement with it. Since this item is highly injurious to my credit report, please reinvestigate and provide me with the names and business addresses of the persons with whom you verified these items, so that I may contact them myself. Please forward this information to me, along with a copy of my credit report.

Your Name
Your Current Address
SSN
DOB

Credit Report Date: Date

Item disputed:

Creditor
Account Number
**Statement of dispute, i.e. “This is not my account”, “This item is inaccurate"**

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

RE: Request for deletion of unauthorized Inquiries
ID#: if provided on credit report

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently received my credit report and found the following inquiries to be of inaccurate reporting.

Your Name
Your Current Address
SSN
DOB

Credit Report Date: Date

Inquiries disputed:

Inquiry Information

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Date of Settlement Agreement

Name of Creditor
Creditor’s Address

RE: Account Account #

To Whom It May Concern:

The purpose of this letter is to confirm our previous telephone conversation on Conversation Date regarding the settlement of the above account. According to our verbal agreement on the telephone, I will pay your company the amount of $Settlement Amount as full settlement of this account. Also, according to our verbal agreement, upon receipt of the above amount, your company has agreed to change the remark on my credit report to Agreement, i.e. “paid satisfactorily”.

In addition, any reference to any late payment or charge-off regarding this account will be deleted from my credit report. The updated status will then be reported to all credit bureaus that you report to.

Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. If this settlement agreement is acceptable to your company, please acknowledge with your signature in the space provided below and return a copy to me. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgement, I will forward you the amount stated above.

_____________________________     __________
 (SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED OFFICER)         (DATE) 

Thank you,

Your Name
Your Address

Letter Date

Credit Bureau Name
Credit Bureau Address

To Whom It May Concern:

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act Section 611(b), I have the right to enter a “consumer statement” in my credit report. Please include the following “consumer statement” as it pertains to the following item:

Creditor
Account Number

Enter your Statement Here, for example: “On Date, I moved to another address. I notified all my creditors, including Name of Creditor promptly. Name of Creditor was slow in changing my address in its file. Following the move, I did not receive my billing statement for name a period of time. Once I received the statement at my new address, I paid this creditor promptly. I have paid promptly ever since.”

Please send me an updated copy of my credit report with the above statement included.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address

Is it possible to have too many credit inquiries showing on your report and, if so, can you have them removed?

The inquiry section contains a list of businesses that have received your credit report within the past 24 months. This can look bad to a potential Creditor. They may believe that you’ve received these lines of credit and the accounts have just not appeared on your credit reports yet. If they believe that you have overextended yourself, you can find yourself being denied credit, due to the inquiries.

I’ve never had this occur (which doesn’t mean it can’t). Be careful when soliciting credit lines. If you’re interested in buying a new car, don’t let every dealership in town request your credit report. Shop around, settle on the car you’re interested in, and THEN let them run your credit. Treat your credit report as a very special, private thing that is NOT meant to be seen by everyone in the world! Practice safe-crediting! smile

Most potential Creditors disregard inquiries over 6 months old, since by that time, the account should have appeared on your report, if you really did receive the credit. 

I was told that my letters to the Credit Bureaus must contain the specific law that required them to remove disputed items that cannot be verified. Your letters do not state the laws in them. Do you know if this is necessary?

My letters refer to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. To my knowledge, this would be the only law that would need to be referred to. Laws in other states may be different, but, in Texas, this seems to have been sufficient.

I am trying to buy a house and I have a bankruptcy and an item in collections. Is it possible to clear that up?

Negative items that are outdated (7 years for negative items, 10 years for bankruptcies), inaccurate, unable to be verified, or that don’t belong to you MUST BE REMOVED, according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Unless your bankruptcy, or collection item, is outdated, or somehow inaccurate, the items cannot be removed.

In Understanding Your Credit Reports, you stated negative entries should only remain on your credit report for 7 years from “date of last activity” (or 10 years, in the case of a bankruptcy). What exactly is the meaning of “date of last activity”? Is there a legal definition for this? If an account goes from onecollection agency to another to another does all that time count as “date of last activity”?

Okay, I went to Experian to see what their definition was and this is what I found: “The original delinquency date is the date you first missed a payment - the original date the account became late - and after which you never again brought the account current.” This would be the “date of last activity”.

http://www.experian.com/ask_max/max120402a.html

Also, I found the following at another site, though I’m not sure of its validity: “Re-aging of debts is strictly illegal and is more than sufficient grounds for filing of a lawsuit. The DLA is defined by Congress as being a date 30 days after the last payment missed was due.”

What should a bankruptcy look like on a credit report? I have some entries, which show as “included in a bankruptcy”, and others, which were also included in the bankruptcy, that show notations for 30/60/90 days late and account balances.

Okay, I’ve never filed a bankruptcy (knock on wood), so I’ve never actually seen one listed on a credit report. I did a bit of hunting and found a site called “411 Bankruptcy”, which states: “After the discharge, you are entitled underfederal law to have the balance of each discharged debt reported as zero. The history of delinquencies can be reported, but the balance must be zero. If it is not so reported, dispute the debt.”

https://www.411bankruptcy.com/creditrepair.asp

Note: I know very little about bankruptcies, but I believe the key here may be the discharge of the bankruptcy.

I’ve researched one of the Creditors listed on my report and they don’t seem to exist. Is this good or bad?

Creditors must be able to verify the item in question. If the Creditor no longer exists, then there is no way for them to prove the negative information provided to the Credit Bureaus and the item will be removed. (Yay!)

Do I need to send a separate letter to each Credit Reporting Agency?

Yes. You should tailor a letter for each Credit Reporting Agency and the items which appear on each report they have provided.

The Credit Bureaus provided a form for disputing entries with my credit report. Should I use it?

You can use their form. I choose not to, because it’s easier for me to type everything in one letter. Plus, by writing your own letter, you’ll have more space to say what you need to say.

Can I dispute everything in one letter or should I put each dispute in a separate letter?

As far as I know, there is no reason you should not dispute all negative entries in one letter. For example, you have 3 outdated entries and 2 incorrect entries. Write one letter disputing all 5 entries. If you’d prefer to write 2 letters, one for the outdated entries and one for the incorrect, you can do that, too.

When corresponding with the Credit Bureaus, how much information should I provide?

The rule of thumb is to make the Credit Bureaus responsible for verifying credit entries; therefore, you don’t want to confirm negative entries for them. If you’ve been the victim of identity theft, though, you’ll want to tell them EVERYTHING. Use common sense.