FAQ

• What are credit reports?

  A credit report is like a financial report card that keeps track of your money habits. It includes details about where you live, what lines of credit you have open, how you pay your bills, and any major financial issues like bankruptcies.

  Credit reports are created by companies called credit bureaus – also known as Credit Reporting Agencies or CRAs – that gather and share this information with businesses. Lenders, landlords, insurance companies, and even employers may check your credit report when deciding whether to approve you for things like loans, credit cards, apartments, or even jobs.

  The three biggest credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—handle most consumer credit reports. There’s also a smaller CRA called Innovis. Additionally, more than 40 smaller companies focus on specific areas like tenant and employment background checks, insurance approvals, or utility accounts. To learn more about CRAs, including the specialty ones, contact the ITRC, toll free, @ 888.400.5530 or click on the live chat button on this page.

• What is a security, or credit, freeze, and is it free?

  A credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans and services from being approved in your name without your consent. You have a right to place a free “credit freeze” on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report to potential new lenders without your express authorization. Credit freezes are free.

• Should I verify the information contained in my credit reports?

  Yes! Credit reports can affect whether you are able to borrow money to purchase things like a home or car, get credit cards, or get a student loan. They determine the cost of borrowing money. Credit reports also affect how much you pay for insurance, whether landlords will rent you housing and whether some employers will approve your employment application. It’s important to check your credit reports for accuracy and request corrections when the information is wrong.

• How are credit reports used?

  CRAs provide information, with your permission, to thousands of organizations as part of a transaction you request. Organizations that can access credit reports include banks, credit unions, credit card issuers, auto lenders, mortgage lenders, student loan providers, retail-merchant credit providers, insurance companies, utility companies, landlords, collections agencies, government agencies, and employers.

• Are credit reports accurate?

  When reviewing your credit report, you should make sure it contains only information about you. Be sure to look for false, incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information. Errors can negatively affect your eligibility or pricing for loans, credit cards, insurance premiums, housing and employment.

• What common credit report errors should I look for in my credit reports?

  Common errors in consumer credit reports include:

  • Identity errors
    • Errors made to your identity information (wrong name, phone number, address)
    • Accounts belonging to another person with the same or a similar name as yours
    • Incorrect accounts resulting from identity theft

   

  • Incorrect account status
    • Closed accounts reported as open
    • You are reported as the owner of the account, when you are just an authorized user
    • Accounts incorrectly reported as late or delinquent
    • Incorrect date of last payment, date opened, or date of first delinquency

   

  • Data management errors
    • Reinsertion of incorrect information after it was corrected
    • Accounts that appear multiple times with different creditors listed (especially in the case of delinquent accounts or accounts in collections)

   

• How harmful is false information from identity fraud*?

  False information in your credit reports can dramatically increase your cost of living. False information based on identity fraud can impact whether lenders and creditors will loan you money and result in higher interest rates.

  False credit report information will also negatively impact your current lenders’ decision on whether to change the terms of existing credit accounts, including limiting your available lines of credit.

  Businesses that rely on false information in your credit reports may decline your insurance applications or charge you high insurance premiums; decline your application for rental housing; decline your application for cable TV, internet service, electrical and water utilities, or cell phone service.

  *Identity theft is when your personal information is stolen. Identity fraud is when your stolen identity information is misused.

• How do I dispute errors contained in my credit reports?

  To dispute errors in your credit report, you will need to contact both the credit reporting agency and the data furnisher that provided the erroneous information to the credit reporting agency.

  For more information on the credit report error dispute process, contact the ITRC, toll free, @ 888.400.5530 or click on the live chat button on this page.

• What if a credit reporting agency or data furnisher do not correct errors in my credit report?

  If a credit reporting agency doesn’t respond to your dispute or doesn’t fully respond, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You may also be able to file a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office where you live.

  You also have the right to add a statement to your credit file. If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute with the credit reporting agency, you can ask that a brief statement of the dispute be included in your file and included or summarized in future credit reports. Your right to include a statement in your file only applies to disputes you’ve submitted to a credit reporting agency, not to disputes that you’ve submitted directly to companies that provided the wrong information to the credit reporting agency.

• How can I protect my child from identity theft and fraud?

  You have a legal right to order a free credit freeze for your child, which will help protect your child from identity theft and identity fraud. For more information, contact the ITRC, toll free, @ 888.400.5530, click on the live chat button on this page, or visit our website.