Credit bureaus gather and sell credit information about consumers and are a principal source of information about your credit history. Creditors usually rely on credit bureau reports before issuing a line of credit. So it makes sense to ask your local credit bureaus for your report. You can find them listed in the telephone Yellow Pages under

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that regulates credit reporting bureaus and prohibits inaccurate or obsolete information from being reported in credit files.

You have a right to get a copy of your credit report any time, but you may be charged a fee. When you receive it, carefully check all the information, including all

Begin by opening individual savings and checking accounts in your name. Over time, your deposits, withdrawals, and transfers will demonstrate that you can handle money responsibly.

Applying for a loan is another option, but be aware that this method of establishing a credit history will cost, since loans require the payment of interest.

You

When you apply for credit, you authorize the lender to ask for a copy of your credit report. This is how voluntary inquiries appear on your credit report. The inquiries section of your credit report contains a list of everyone who accessed your credit report within the last two years. The report you see lists both voluntary inquiries, spurred

No. It is not illegal or immoral to eliminate mistakes on your credit report. In fact the federal government, under the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 168 le, protects your right to do so.

Phone calls to your card issuer's customer service center may answer your questions but may not guarantee your rights under the law. Always follow up with a letter confirming the details of your conversation. Keep copies of all statements, receipts, and correspondence.

It is important to check credit billing and electronic fund transfer account statements regularly. These documents may contain mistakes that could damage your credit status or reflect improper charges or transfers. If you find an error or discrepancy, notify the company and contest the error immediately. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and

When creditors evaluate a credit application, they cannot lawfully engage in discriminatory practices.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. Creditors may ask for this information (except religion) in

It is critical to first review all the personally identifying information in your credit reports, including:

Names and Aliases
Addresses
Social Security Number
Date of Birth
State ID Number
Spouse Information
Employers

Note whether this information is in any way inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated. You must dispute

You may sue a CRA or a company that provides data to a CRA in federal or state court. If you win, you may be entitled to recover an amount for damages you have actually incurred or a maximum of $1,000, whichever is greater. You may also recover court costs and attorney fees.

In addition to filing your own lawsuit, you may complain to the FTC

Initial disclosure. If an insurer uses credit information in underwriting or rating, Illinois law requires the insurer or its agent to tell you at the time they take your application, that the company may obtain your credit information. The disclosure must be in the same medium as the application. For example, if the application is taken in

Possibly. Sometimes an insurer will find "no hits," "no score," or a "thin file," which means they cannot find a meaningful credit history for you. This lack of credit information could occur if you're young and haven't yet established a credit history, if you don't believe in using credit and have always paid in cash, or if you have recently

If the credit bureau's reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you may send a brief statement to the credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining why you think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include a summary of your statement about disputed information with any report it issues about you.

A CRA must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information from its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it. However, the CRA 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 CRA cannot reinsert

Although some insurance companies still look at your actual credit report, most companies now use a "credit score" or an "insurance score." A score is a snapshot of your credit at one point in time.

Insurance companies and entities that have developed credit scoring models use several factors to determine credit scores. Each factor is

Insurers that use credit information and entities that have developed credit scoring models state that there is no difference in credit scores among different income levels because there are just as many financially responsible low-income consumers as there are financially responsible high-income consumers.

As of October 1, 2003, Illinois law

Some insurance companies believe there is a direct statistical relationship between financial stability and losses. They believe that as a group, consumers who show more financial responsibility have fewer and less costly losses, and therefore, should pay less for their insurance. Conversely, they believe that as a group, consumers who show

Spouses have the right to have their credit histories listed separately, including the accounts they use jointly. Married women have the option of using their birth name or married name. In the case of couples who jointly established credit, but whose credit appears in the name of only one spouse, the other partner has the right to rely on

Have you come to California from another country? If you have, you are not alone. Every year more than 250,000 people move to California from other countries. American life and culture can be difficult to understand, and financial and money matters are especially confusing. This brochure explains credit--how to qualify for it, how to use it

You are allowed to have a free copy of your complete credit report if you have been turned down for credit, a job or a rental dwelling in the past 60 days based on your credit report. You should also get a free copy if you are a victim of fraud. Ask the lender which credit bureau supplied the information that influenced the decision, and

Companies use credit in two ways, to underwrite and rate your insurance policy.

Underwriting - Underwriting is the process where an insurer gathers information about you and decides whether or not they will insure you. Illinois law allows an insurer to deny you a new policy, or to cancel or nonrenew your existing policy based solely on

Not always. Many companies will extend credit to people with poor credit—so-called “subprime” customers—but they will charge them a higher interest rate than people with good credit would pay. Borrowers fall into the subprime category because they made late payments on credit cards or loans, abandoned loans or filed

Your employer and financial institution will likely need your SSN for wage and tax reporting purposes. Other businesses may ask you for your SSN to do a credit check, like when you apply for a car loan. Sometimes, however, they simply want your SSN for general record keeping. If someone asks for your SSN, ask the following questions:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in consumer credit reports. It also controls the use of credit reports and requires consumer reporting agencies to maintain correct and complete files.

According to this act, you have a right to review your credit report and to have incorrect information...

Once you have obtained credit, it is necessary to protect it. This means being careful with your credit, debit, and ATM cards, as well as your account and personal identification numbers (PIN).

Carry only the cards you expect to use, and keep the others in a safe place. Maintain a list of account and telephone numbers of the companies that

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act promotes the fair treatment of consumers by prohibiting debt collectors from using unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices.

This act applies to professional debt collectors who collect on loans they did not originate. Though it technically does not apply to banks, department stores, and other lenders who

The Fair Credit Billing Act provides for the prompt correction of errors on open-end credit accounts (department store credit accounts, for example) and protects consumers' credit ratings while they are settling disputes.

Under this law, if a consumer is disputing a charge, creditors cannot report the consumer's account as delinquent. This