Thank You letters || Testimonials

FACT ACT - Free Annual Credit Report

Many major provisions of the FACT Act go into effect 12/1/2004. This law amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Our Credit Reporting Bureau's Merge Reports will include all new alerts and information conveyed by the nationwide credit bureaus, including:

Initial fraud alerts, Extended fraud alerts and associated consumer statements
Active-duty military alerts
Address mismatch indicators

Our reports will also include the "fifth score factor" if the bureaus send one. The "fifth score factor" is a message indicating that inquiries negatively impacted the borrower's credit score, but were not among the top four factors provided with the usual reason codes. This message may appear even if inquiries were a very small factor in the score calculation. If inquiries did not negatively impact the score there will be no "fifth factor" message. There will also be no "fifth factor" if inquiries are already noted in the top four factors negatively impacting the score. If inquiries do appear as a "fifth factor" this will be listed immediately beneath the top four factors.

The FACT Act grants an annual free credit report to all consumers. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – have established a Web address, toll-free telephone number, and postal address consumers can use to request a free annual credit report.

Beginning December 1, 2004, consumers in 13 Western states will be able to begin making requests by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com, calling 877-322-8228, or mailing a standardized form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The 13 eligible states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Free annual reports will be phased in across the country from west to east over a nine-month period. After September 1, 2005, all U.S. consumers will be eligible to request a free report from the nationwide consumer reporting agencies. If you have questions about this new opportunity to obtain your credit reports for review, you may get the FTC's new Facts for Consumers Brochure, "Your Access to Free Credit Reports," which is available online at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm.

We hope this information is helpful to you. This information is not intended to be legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such.