Credit Reports — gaining access to yours

So it seems that Big Brother (or Brothers) has a lot of information on you and your spending habits. However, there is a good chance that some of the data is not accurate. The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) conducted a study in 1998 and found almost 30% of the credit reports included errors that could have precluded the consumer from getting credit or insurance.

The U.S. Government passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that as of January 2004 requires all the credit bureaus to give you one free credit report per year. However, the dates when that law becomes effective vary according to your area of the country.

If you live in the west, i.e., Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as of December 1, 2004 you may order your free report.

If you live in the Midwest, i.e., Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin your date was March 1, 2005.

If you live in the South, i.e., Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, you may order your free report June 1, 2005.

If you live in the East, i.e., Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, D.C., Puerto Rico and all the U.S. territories, you may order your free credit report beginning September 1, 2005.

You may also get a free report if

You have been turned down for credit, employment or insurance over the last 60 days
You were charged higher fees, rates, or deposits due to a credit report
You are unemployed
You are on welfare
You were a victim of fraud

If you do not want to wait until your free credit report becomes available, just contact one of the big three CRAs and pay a small fee of about $10 and you may receive the report. You can also accomplish this online.