Free Credit Reports Put Consumers in Charge

By Alice Magos, CCH Toolkit Staff Writer

Credit reports and scores are the keys to many consumers' dreams of buying a home or financing some purchase. And for many years, these "sacred texts" were hard to access and even more difficult to correct. But now a new federal law has opened up the process so people can easily get their credit reports, monitor their results and contest any errors--all for free.

As of December 1, 2004, a key law dubbed the FACT Act took effect. (That stands for the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.) This law updates the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act and, amongst other protections, provides consumers with a free credit report every year.

Consumers can request reports from one of the major bureaus or from all three, from the Annual Credit Report Central Source at http://www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by mailing a request to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box, 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

But. . .there's a slight catch. If you're in a Western state, the above info will work as of December 1, 2004. If you're in a Midwestern state, it won't start working until March 1, 2005. Southern folk can't get it until June 1, 2005, and you Easterners can't get on board until September 1st. See the Annual Credit Report Central Source at http://www.annualcreditreport.com for the list of states in those regions.

Of course, seven states already mandate getting free reports anyway so if you live in Colorado, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts or Vermont you can get your reports right away.

The new law also creates a national fraud alert system simplifying a consumer's ability to report suspicious activities. They can contact any of the three bureaus and ask that a fraud alert be placed on their credit reports.

Be sure to read the FAQs at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/helpfaq and make sure you regularly check your credit report for any unusual activity that may be a sign of identity theft.

Related items:

Consumers in the Dark on Credit Scores: Survey

Credit Counseling Agencies Come Under Fire in Congressional Report

Federal Reserve Sees Little Sign of Rising Household Financial Stress

Seniors Face Mounting Credit Card Debt, Report Finds

House Passes Bankruptcy Reform in Bid for Conference with Senate

Experts Discuss Merits, Pitfalls of FACT Act

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act Signed into Law

Posted February 2, 2005.