Bronson Reminds Consumers About Free Credit Reports
For Information, Contact:
Liz Compton
(850) 488-3022
Liz.Compton@freshfromflorida.com
January 14, 2009
TALLAHASSEE - Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is urging residents to take advantage of the free credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. He says reviewing personal financial information is a good way to start the year.
“People have spent the past month hectically shopping for the holidays, possibly without paying as much attention to receipts and charge card statements as they usually do.” Bronson said. “So it is a good time to take a close look at your credit report to see if any fraudulent activity has occurred.”
Since 2005, federal law has allowed people to get one free credit report annually from each of the three credit reporting agencies. The amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act was designed to provide consumers who cannot or will not pay a fee for the reports to access them for free.
A credit report contains information about a consumer’s credit history, including a listing of all credit cards, whether bills have been paid on time, and whether the consumer has been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. National consumer reporting agencies sell the information to credit card companies and other creditors, insurers, employers and businesses that use it to determine whether to approve an application for credit, insurance, loans, and employment. A poor credit history can result in rejection of credit or higher interest rates on a loan.
Bronson recommends that consumers get one of the reports every four months to monitor their credit throughout the year. He says that enables people to quickly report any mistakes or fraudulent activity, such as a credit card obtained in a consumer’s name by someone else.
“When someone has been victimized by an identity thief, if they catch the problem early, they can minimize the damage to their credit,” Bronson said.
Bronson is also reminding consumers that they can put a security freeze on their credit reports. While there is a small fee for the service, the freeze prevents access to a consumer’s credit report without their authorization. So a criminal would be unable to open a charge card or other account in the consumer’s name without their knowledge.
A recent AARP study found that 81% of older consumers are concerned about becoming a victim of identity theft but less than one third were aware of security freeze options.
The three major credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. To obtain a free copy of reports from these agencies, log onto www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. People should be wary of any other sites which claim to offer free reports but steer consumers to sites that offer services by subscription for a fee. Consumers can also order their reports by calling toll-free 877-322-8228.
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