HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR CREDIT and SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORTS?
FACT Act: Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 http://www.annualcreditreport.com
**Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are entitled to a free copy of your consumer reports, at your request, once every 12 months.
Everyone can request one free credit report from each credit reporting agency per year. Ordering this report does not affect your credit score. www.annualcreditreport.com , 877-322-8228
***October 13, 2023: The three national credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report at each of the agencies once a week for free!
www.annualcreditreport.com or 1-877-322-8228 www.annualcreditreport.com
Fair Credit Reporting Act:
Ordering these personal credit reports do not affect your credit score.
1. A copy of your report from any credit bureau can be obtained free of charge within 60 days of being denied credit, insurance or employment due to information on your credit report.
**If you were charged higher rates and fees or deposits based on a credit report issued by a credit bureau, you have the right to receive a free copy from that bureau.
You are also entitled to one free report a year if:
2. You are unemployed and plan to look for a job within the next 60 days
3. You receive Public Assistance
4. You have reason to believe you are a victim of Fraud
Credit Reporting Agencies Servicing the Texas Gulf Coast Area (2023)
Equifax
P.O. Box 105851
Atlanta, GA 30348
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
Consumer Assistance Center
P. O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union LLC
Attention: Consumer Assistance
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Requesting reports in special situations: How to order credit reports in Braille, large print or audio format, ordering credit reports as a legal guardian, ordering credit reports for a minor or a deceased person. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/requestingReportsInSpecialSituations.action
SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORTS (Consumer Reporting Bureaus)
Consumer specialty companies collect information and provide reports to other companies about you. The CFPB has compiled a list that includes several specialty reporting companies that focus on certain market areas and consumer segments. The list gives you tips so you can determine which of these companies may be important to you. It also makes it easier for you to take advantage of your legal rights to obtain the information in your consumer reports, and dispute report inaccuracies with companies as needed.
LexisNexis Full File Disclosure:
LexisNexis offers consumers their Full File Disclosure free of charge once per year. A Full File Disclosure is available only to a consumer that requests their own file, when the request is submitted with proper identity authentication.
https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com
CFPB: 2023 List of Consumer Reporting Companies
https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-reporting-companies-list_2023.pdf
OPT-OUT of Mailing Lists
If you want your name and address removed from all mailing lists offered by the main consumer credit reporting agencies, Trans Union, Experian, Equifax: Call 1-888- 5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or www.optoutprescreen.com
Shopping for Insurance?
To obtain price and policy form comparisons and other information related to residential property insurance and personal automobile insurance, visit the Texas Department of Insurance: www.helpinsure.com
Search for Unclaimed Property
The Official State of Texas Unclaimed Property Website
One in four Texans has unclaimed property from forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, security deposits and utility refunds. You can request searches by phone or online: 1-800-654-FIND (3463)
ClaimItTexas.gov
MissingMoney.com is a database of governmental unclaimed property records.
Conduct a free multi-state search by going directly to MissingMoney, the NAUPA-sponsored search engine, or search state-by-state on individual unclaimed property programs by clicking the appropriate jurisdiction on the map or drop box below. You should search in every state where you have lived.
UNCLAIMED MONEY from the Government: https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money
TeleCheck, ChexSystems and Early Warning
Telecheck, ChexSystems and Early Warning are information-reporting firms for bank accounts. They work much in the same way that the Credit Bureau works. When someone writes “hot” or “bad” checks, the retail merchant or financial institution may report that person to these two companies. Should that person try to open a new account, the financial institution will contact TeleCheck, ChexSystems and/or Early Warning to insure the new customer does not have any outstanding accounts that have not been paid in full. Additionally, if you are allowed to open your account and your name is listed with any of these firms, you may not be able to write a check at certain retail stores.
TeleCheck’ s national data base retains for seven years’ negative reports on checks, accounts closed for cause, ATMs, credit, bankcard and other losses.
For more information, call 1-800-TELECHECK (1-800-835-3243) or https://getassistance.telecheck.com/consumer-file-report.html
The ChexSystems, Inc network is comprised of member Financial Institutions that regularly contribute information on mishandled checking and savings accounts to a central location. ChexSystems shares this information among member institutions to help them assess the risk of opening new accounts. ChexSystems only shares information with the member institutions and does not decide on new account openings.
You can order a report to learn what information, if any, ChexSystems, Inc. has about you. If you have been denied an account from a bank or credit union, and ChexSystems was used in the decision process, this information will help you understand what contributed to that decision.
Each report submitted to ChexSystems remains on file for five years, unless the source of the information requests its removal or ChexSystems becomes obligated to remove it under applicable law. A reporting member is under no obligation to remove an accurate report of account mishandling.
To order a copy of your report from ChexSystems, call 1-800-428-9623 or Order Your ChexSystems Report http://www.chexsystems.com
Early Warning: 800-745-1560 or https://www.earlywarning.com/consumer-information