COMMUNITY SERVICES
By
A. J. Milloy
Chairman
I’m sure everyone has seen the commercials with the curly-headed singer telling
the world how he can’t buy anything because he didn’t check his credit rating and
how he has to live with his wife’s parents, work in a seafood joint, etc., and I’m sure
most people wonder “why should I care”.
You should care because this credit history is a direct reflection on you and how you
handle your credit, and is used to determine your qualifications for a loan, how much
you have to pay and how big that loan can be. It’s actually a pretty concise picture of your dependability as a consumer willing to pay off his debts. It shows where you live,
how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been arrested, sued, or filed for bankruptcy.
Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your
applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.
You need to make sure this information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date to
help to insure that it doesn’t effect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.
It also helps you guard against identity theft.
What you should know is that there are three nationwide consumer-reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires these
Institutions to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once
Every twelve months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of the information
in these files.
Only ONE website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law – annualcreditreport.com – a central website set up by the three companies with a toll-free telephone number and a mailing address through which you
can order your free annual report.
Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports”, “free credit scores”, or “free credit
monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases the “free” report comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a free service that converts to a pay service once the trail period runs out. If you don’t cancel during the trial, you may be agreeing to let the company start
charging your credit card.
Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report” in their names, or purposely misspell
annualcreditreport.com in the hopes that someone will misspell the name of the official
site. Some may direct you to other sites that try to sell things or collect personal information.
If you would like to check on your credit history, go to annualcreditreport.com (immediate results) or call 1-877-322-8228 (15 days after call) or snail mail to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service,
(answer within 15 days after
receipt of form). We have forms
available at the
Hall if you would like to mail your request.