AnnualCreditReport.com is a website operated jointly by three US, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reporting agencies. This site is designed to meet their obligations under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) to provide a mechanism for American consumers to receive up to three free credit reports per year.
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One of the provisions of FACTA, passed in 2003 as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), is a requirement that each of the three credit reporting agencies provide, upon request, a free credit report every twelve months for each consumer. The goal is to allow consumers a way to ensure their credit information is correct and to guard against identity theft.
Thus, the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion create a joint venture of Resource Center LLC to oversee their compliance with FACTA. Central Source then set up a toll-free telephone number, mailing address and website center, AnnualCreditReport.com, to process consumer demand. Access to free reports was initially launched gradually, based on consumer housing conditions. By the end of 2005 all US consumers can use this service to get credit reports.
Participating companies
Currently these companies are required to participate in the website:
- Equifax
- Experian
- Transunion
Company not participating
- Innovis
- PRBC
- ChexSystems
Maps AnnualCreditReport.com
Use of website
AnnualCreditReport.com requires users to register to the site and provide their basic identifying information, such as name, address, and Social Security number. Users are then sent to the individual credit reporting agency website of their choosing, where they are asked additional security questions to confirm their identity before getting their report. A consumer may request reports from all three agencies at the same time or stop requests during the twelve month period as a way to monitor their credit data on their own. To get a free credit report, users do not need to provide credit card numbers but make the account necessary by some agencies. Any inaccuracies or identity theft signs can be dealt with using the mechanisms provided for FCRA and FACTA.
During the two-year period from December 2004 to December 2006, 52 million credit reports were issued to consumers through AnnualCreditReport.com. According to the Consumer Data Industry Association, less than 2 percent of the reports reviewed by consumers resulted in a dispute in which data were removed from the report.
Credit score is not included in the free credit report obtained from AnnualCreditReport.com. For a fee, each credit bureau offers a credit score as an additional feature of the report.
Worries
Credit requests have an impact on credit score
Using this service does not reduce the value of consumer credit, as it is considered a "soft" credit withdrawal. Withdrawal of "hard" credit made by the lender directly, however, affects the credit score of the borrower.
Third party fraud attempts
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official and authorized source mandated to obtain a free credit report. The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers to know "fraudulent" websites that have similar names or deliberately misspelled real names. Such fraudulent websites include websites with titles like FreeCreditScore.com.
To investigate this issue, the consumer group of the World Privacy Forum has made two studies on AnnualCreditReport.com. A July 2005 study found that there are 233 domains with a name very similar to AnnualCreditReport.com, which drives users to unplanned destinations, including costly services, "link farms" and pornographic sites. The report concludes that the credit reporting agencies and the Federal Trade Commission are required to do more to control and shut down fraudulent sites. A follow-up study from RentPrep found that out of 112 previously-directed links, only six are left today.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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