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Who is Credit Communications Inc
(CCI)?
CCI is a consumer credit reporting agency that provides
credit information solutions to businesses only.
CCI is not a credit
bureau or a credit
grantor. We have a contractual relationship with
the three national repositories
(Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union, also known as
credit bureaus) that allows us to obtain credit reports
and
other credit data
from the national
repositories and then package and provide that information
to lenders in a useful and customized fashion. CCI
does not maintain
permanent
credit
information files on consumers, grant credit, or
issue loans.
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What are my rights as a consumer?
Consumer Bill of Rights The Federal Trade Commission
("FTC") enforces credit laws that protect consumer's rights to obtain, use, and
maintain credit. The Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") was
designed to help ensure credit reporting agencies ("CRAs")
furnish correct and complete information to businesses to use when evaluating
a consumer's application. Under the FCRA:
- You must be told if information in your file has
been used against you. Anyone who uses information from a credit
reporting agency to take action
against you - such as denying an application for credit, insurance,
or employment - must tell you, and give you the name, address,
and phone
number of the credit reporting agency that provided the credit
report.
- You can find out what is in your file. At your request,
a credit reporting agency must give you the information in
your file, and a list of
everyone who has requested it recently. There is no charge for the report if
a
person has taken action against you because of information supplied
by the credit reporting agency, if you request the report within 60 days
of receiving notice of the action. You also are entitled to one
free report every twelve months upon request if you certify that (1) you are
unemployed and plan to seek employment within 60 days; (2) you
are on welfare, or (3) your report is inaccurate due to fraud.
- You can dispute
inaccurate information with the credit reporting agency. If
you tell a credit reporting agency that your file contains
inaccurate
information, the credit reporting agency must investigate the items
(usually within 30 days) by presenting to its information source all relevant
evidence you submit, unless your dispute is frivolous. The source
must
review your evidence and report its findings to the credit-reporting
agency. (The source also must advise national credit reporting
agencies - to which it has provided the data - of any error.) The credit-reporting
agency must give you a written report of the investigation, and
a copy
of your report if the investigation results in any change. If the
credit reporting agency's investigation does not resolve the dispute, you may
add a brief statement to your file. The credit-reporting agency
must
normally include a summary of your statement in future reports.
If an item is deleted or a dispute statement is filed, you may ask that anyone
who has recently received your report be notified of the change.
- Inaccurate
information must be corrected or deleted. A credit-reporting
agency must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information
from its files, usually within 30 days after you dispute it. However,
the credit-reporting agency 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 credit-reporting
agency cannot reinsert into your file a disputed item unless the
information
source verifies its accuracy and completeness. In addition, the
credit reporting agency must give you a written notice telling you it has reinserted
the item. The notice must include the name, address and phone number
of the information source.
- You can dispute inaccurate items with
the source of the information. If you tell anyone - such as
a creditor who reports to a credit
reporting agency - that you dispute an item, they may not then report the information
to a credit reporting agency without including a notice of your
dispute.
In addition, once you've notified the source of the error in writing,
it may not continue to report the information if it is, in fact,
an error.
- Outdated information may not be reported. In most cases,
a credit-reporting agency may not report negative information
that is more than seven
years old; ten years for bankruptcies.
- Access to your file is limited. A credit-reporting
agency may provide information about you only to people with
a need recognized by
the FCRA - usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer,
landlord, or other business.
- Your consent is required for reports
that are provided to employers, or reports that contain medical
information. A credit-reporting
agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or prospective
employer, without your written consent. A credit-reporting agency
may
not report medical information about you to creditors, insurers,
or employers without your permission.
- You may choose to exclude your name from
credit reporting agency lists for unsolicited credit and insurance
offers. Creditors and insurers
may use file information as the basis for sending you unsolicited offers
of credit or insurance. Such offers must include a toll-free
phone number for you to call if you want your name and address
removed from future
lists. If you call, you must be kept off the lists for two years.
If you request, complete, and return the credit reporting agency form provided
for this purpose, you must be taken off the lists indefinitely.
- You
may seek damages from violators. If a credit reporting agency,
a user or (in some cases) a provider of credit reporting
agency data,
violates the FCRA, you may sue them in state or federal court.
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How does a divorce affect my credit?
A divorce decree does not take the place of the original contract
with the creditor. It does not release your legal responsibility
on the account. If an account was awarded to your ex-spouse in the divorce
decree, you
must contact each creditor directly to release your obligation.
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What should I do if there are errors on my credit report?
CCI credit reports contain credit history that comes directly from the
three major credit repositories. Since information reported to the repositories
is only as current and as accurate as the information reported by creditor(s),
you may want to dispute any inaccurate information by contacting the
creditor(s) directly.
However, if you wish to dispute information directly with the
credit bureau(s) you must first order a copy of your credit report
from the
bureau(s) that are reporting information in error. As of 12/01/04 you
are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each credit
bureau, each year. You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com to
find out of your
state is yet eligible for this. From there you can fill out the information
requested to obtain a copy of your report. If your state is not yet
eligible (all states will be by the end of 2005) you can order
a copy of your
report directly from each bureau. Once you have the information you
can dispute items on line or through the mail. If you desire
to contact each
credit bureau individually you may do so at:
Equifax
PO Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
Toll Free (800)685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013-2002
Toll Free (888)397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union
PO Box 2000
Chester PA 19022
Toll Free (800)888-4213
www.transunion.com
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How long are bankruptcies and other delinquent or derogatory credit
reportable?
- Bankruptcies are reportable 10 years from the date of entry of the
order for relief
- Suits & Judgments are reportable seven years from
date of entry or expiration of applicable statute of limitations,
whichever
is
longer.
- Paid Tax Liens are reportable seven years from
date of payment
- Unpaid Tax Liens are reportable with no limitation
- Collections are
reportable for seven years.
- Charged Off Accounts are reportable for
seven years.
- Other Adverse Information is reportable for seven years.
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How does my adult child's credit and mine end up on the same credit
report?
Mixed credit does exist in credit bureau data. A parent and adult
child who share the same or similar names may develop
mixed credit. This is compounded by sharing the same residence address
or by having shared
a prior residence address. Using the proper
suffix with a name such as
Joseph Smith, Jr. or Joseph Smith III, as well
as
your birth date, may assist in eliminating mixed data.
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Why are some of the account numbers on my credit report different from
what I have?
Credit grantors may shorten, lengthen, or truncate account numbers when
reporting to the credit bureaus. For security reasons, creditors may
also scramble account numbers.
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What is a credit score and how does it affect me?
A credit score is a number lenders use to help them decide: "If
I give this person a loan or credit card, how likely is it that I will
get paid back on time?" A score is a snapshot of your credit risk
picture at a particular point in time. There are many types of credit
scores, but the most commonly used are credit bureau scores. Credit bureau
scores are based soley on information in consumer credit reports maintained
at one of the national credit reporting agencies - or credit repositories.
Other types of scores of scores may include information from credit applications
or bank files.
The most widely used credit bureau scores are developed by Fair, Isaac.
These are commonly known as FICO scores. More information on FICO scores
can be obtained at www.myfico.com. << Back
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What do I do if I discover a significant credit report error during
the lending process that may be preclude me from qualifying for a loan
or the best loan terms?
If a CCI lender client cannot close a loan for a borrower because of
inaccurate information found in a credit report, there is a premium service
that can help the borrower at the lenders request.
Rapid ReScore is an expedited credit dispute option offered only to
CCI member clients. Learn more about Rapid
ReScore and how it can benefit
both lenders and borrowers.
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