Credit Scores & Credit Reports

1. Credit Scores&Credit Reports Kathleen Batchelor Block A Mrs. Antonucci

2. What is a Credit Score? • A credit score is a three digit number based on a statistics of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically sourced from credit bureaus. • Used for lenders, credit card companies, landlords, and more. • Anyone who has a legitimate or viable reason can access your credit report from the CRA. Credit score range: • 300-850 A good Credit score • 725 to 759 A bad Credit score • Below 550

3. What is a Credit Report • A credit report is a record of your credit activities. It lists any credit-card accounts or loans you may have, the balances, and how regularly you make your payments. It also shows if any action has been taken against you because of unpaid bills. • Two kinds of credit reports are Single Bureau Credit Report, and Three Bureau Credit Report.

4. Where do Credit Reports come from? • There are credit reporting agencies, otherwise known as CRAs, who have the task of tracking, gathering, and presenting your credit history to someone who requests it

5. Info on Credit Reports • You want a credit report to make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan or a job. • Help guard against identity theft. Inaccurate information caused from that could affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job. • If you order online you should be able to access it immediately • If you order by phone your report will be processed and mailed to you within 15 days • If you order by mail using the Annual Credit Report Request Form your request will be processed and mailed to you within 15 days of receipt. • They do not keep credit reports on children

6. Federal Trade Commissions • It is a protection agency • It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy Contact Info Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center Room 130 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20580 www.ftc.gov/credit

7. “Credit Clinics” • FTC cautions consumers to be wary of companies that make claims regarding credit repair • credit clinics, don't do anything you cannot do for yourself at little or no cost. • Beware of any organization that offers to create a new identity and credit file for you. Look out for: • An organization that charges a lot of money to repair credit • A company that asks the consumer to write to the credit reporting company and repeatedly seek verification of the same credit account information in the file, month after month, even though the information has been determined to be correct • An organization that is reluctant to give out their address or one that pushes you to make a decision immediately • An organization that guarantees to remove late payments, bankruptcies, or similar information from a credit report

8. Fraud Alert • Fraud Alert lets potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft • You have the right to ask that nationwide consumer credit reporting companies place "fraud alerts" in your file

9. CRA’s • Credit Reporting Agencies, also referred to as credit bureaus • Only 3 major agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. • But there are other smaller agencies • They get their information from banks, and employers • Can report negative information Contact Info: Equifax Information Services LLC PO Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 1-800-685-1111 Experian 701 Experian Parkway PO Box 2002 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 TransUnion 2 Baldwin Place PO Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 1-800-888-4213

10. Where do you get your Credit Report? • annualcreditreport.com • call 1-877-322-8228 • or mail it to P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

11. Rights under the law in terms of access to your credit report • The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

12. How do i… Exlude my name from nationwide consumer credit reporting company lists? • You may request that consumer credit reporting companies exclude your name from lists for pre-approved, unsolicited credit and insurance offers.

13. How long does information stay Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act information can be included in your credit reports for seven years. But there are exceptions to this rule: • Information about criminal convictions may be reported without any time limitation • Bankruptcy information may be reported for 10 years • Information reported in response to an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit • Information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit • Information about a lawsuit or an unpaid judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer • The seven year statute of limitations on information listed on your credit report figures from the date of last activity.

14. What information does a credit report contain, what do you need to provide? • credit report contains a history of how you've paid your bills, how much open credit you have, and anything else that would affect your creditworthiness • provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of nationwide consumer reporting company may ask you for some information that only you would know *Each company may ask you for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources.

15. Credit Report Errors • Caused if there is a typo in your name, address, social security number, employer's name, address, employer's tax number, credit account number, date of birth, date of transaction. • If you request to fix and error and the CRA stands by the report then you can contact one of the credit bureaus in the US.

16. How to fix errors • Tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. • Include copies of documents that support your position. • Provide your complete name and address • clearly identify each item in your report you dispute. • state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. • Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. • Send it to which ever credit agency used that formed the error

17. AnnualCreditReport.com, is it safe? • In the privacy policy it states “this site’s security protocols and measures are designed to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access or alteration” • Also it states on the front page that you MUST type in the search bar the web address in order to make sure you are at the RIGHT site. • If you receive a email that you suspect is fraudulent then report as spam and delete.

18. FICO scores FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. • FICO scores are the credit scores that most lenders use to determine your credit risk • 3 types of FICO scores are Experian, TransUnions, Equifax • Your 3 FICO scores affect both how much and what loan terms lenders will offer you

19. Additional Info • A bank decides to grant you a loan by looking at your credit score provided by the CRA • Spouses info is not included on your credit report • Should be checked once a year atleast • You can space out all three credit scores

20. Freecreditreport.com versus annualcreditreport.com • Annualcreditreport.com is the only official website where you can get a free credit report with no string attached. • Freecreditreport.com gives you a free credit report on the condition that you join Triple Advantage, a credit monitoring company that requires a month fee

21. The Best and Worst • “The best number to have is 720 or above.” • http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/29/earlyshow/contributors/raymartin/main551521.shtml • The beginning credit score is 250 or 300. There is some variation between credit reporting agencies. • http://money.msn.com/credit-rating/the-road-to-the-worst-credit-score-ever-investopedia.aspx

22. HOW A FICO SCORE IS DETERMINEDhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/29/earlyshow/contributors/raymartin/main551521.shtml • 35 percent Payment History: "Having a long history making of payments on time and no missed payments on all credit accounts is one of the most important items lenders look for." • 30 percent Amount Owed: "This measures the amount you owe relative to the total amount of credit available. Someone closer to maxing out all their credit limits is deemed to be a higher risk of late payments in the future and this can lower their credit score." • 15 percent Length of Credit History: "In general, a credit report containing a list of accounts opened for a long time will help your credit score. The score considers your oldest account and the average age of all accounts." • 10 percent New Credit: "Opening several new credit accounts in a short period of time can lower your credit score. Also multiple credit report inquiries can represent a greater risk, but this does NOT include any requests made by you, an employer or by a lender who does so when sending you an unsolicited, "pre-approved" credit offer. Also, to compensate for rate shopping, the score counts multiple inquiries in any 14-day period as just one inquiry." • 10 percent Types of Credit in Use: "Your mix of credit cards, retail accounts, finance company loans and mortgage loans is considered."

23. How to excluded your name from lists to get credit card offers? • “The credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables you to “opt-out” of having pre-approved credit offers sent to you for five years. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-888-5-OPTOUT      end_of_the_skype_highlighting (567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com for more information. When you call, you’ll be asked for personal information, including your home telephone number, your name, and your Social Security number. The information you provide is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out of receiving pre-screened offers of credit. “ • http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt063.shtm

24. Quiz • What is the difference between a credit score and credit report? • What is a good and bad credit score? • What is the CRA? • What do you do if you have an error in your credit report? • What does FICO stand for? • Give one CRA and how to contact them. • Give three facts about AnnualCreditReport.com.

25. Answers 1-4 1. A credit score is a 3 digit number based on a statistics of a person's credit files and a credit report is record of your credit activities. 2. Good credit score: 725 to 759 a bad credit score: below 550 3. CRA is a credit reporting agencies 4. Tell the credit reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. Include copies of documents that support your position. Provide your complete name and address clearly identify each item in your report you dispute. state the facts and explain why you dispute the information, and request that it be removed or corrected. Tell the creditor or other information provider, in writing, that you dispute an item. Send it to which ever credit agency used that formed the error

26. Answers 5-6 5. FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation 6. Equifax Information Services LLC PO Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 1-800-685-1111 Experian 701 Experian Parkway PO Box 2002 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 TransUnion 2 Baldwin Place PO Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 1-800-888-4213

27. Answer 7 • In the privacy policy it states “this site’s security protocols and measures are designed to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access or alteration” • Also it states on the front page that you MUST type in the search bar the web address in order to make sure you are at the RIGHT site. • If you receive a email that you suspect is fraudulent then report as spam and delete.

28. http://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/creditreport.html#whathttp://www.frbsf.org/publications/consumer/creditreport.html#what • http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/creditscores.aspx • http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/debt-management/credit-score.htm • http://aaacreditguide.com/forums/beginners-credit-information/6295-cra-contact-information.html • http://ezinearticles.com/?Where-Do-Credit-Reports-Come-From?&id=3259329 • http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm • https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp • https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpfaq#top