Your Equifax Credit Report: What You Need to Know
Written: Jan 07 '01 (Updated Jan 07 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Online disputing available
Cons: My report was not as comprehensive as Trans Union or Experian
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| netKat's Full Review: Equifax |
Someone is pulling your credit report more often than you would imagine. And it's not just when you apply for credit. It could be for an employment application, insurance, or even your landlord. What is contained in these reports have a major impact on our lives. That's why you should request your credit reports at least once a year and make sure everything is in order.
I sent away for my credit reports from all three major credit reporting agencies (known as CRAs). The three major CRAs are Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. This review is about Equifax.
How can I get my Equifax Credit Report?
There are several ways to request your report from Equifax.
By Phone: 1-800-997-2493.
You must have a touch-tone phone. The phone ordering option will try to steer you to the website ordering option, so you need to wait out the recording.
By Internet:
www.credit.equifax.com
*watch out... even if you live in a state where you are entitled to a free credit report, if you attempt to order your Equifax report online, the system will charge you $8.00 to $8.50. Order by phone!
By Mail:
Equifax, Inc.
P.O. Box 105496
Atlanta, GA 30348-5496
How Much does it Cost to get a Copy?
By law, a CRA can charge you no more than $8.50 to receive a copy of your credit report. Under some circumstances, you may get a free or reduced price copy.
Free once per year if you are a resident of:
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, Colorado, Georgia, or Vermont
Free if within the last 60 days
You have been denied employment, insurance, or credit by a company who used your Equifax credit report.
Free if you certify in writing
That you are receiving welfare, are unemployed, or you believe that you are a victim of fraud.
Reduced rates are offered in these states:
California residents: $8.00
Connecticut residents: $5.00
Maine & Minnesota residents: $3.00
How was my Experience getting my Report?
Since I live in a state where my yearly report is free, I ordered by phone. Unfortunately, I was told that I had to send a follow up letter by the automated system. I don't know why this happened.
I sent the letter per their request containing the following information:
Full name
Social Security Number
Current and previous addresses for the last 5 years
Date of Birth
Signature
Home phone number
I received my credit report approximately 2 weeks later.
What is on the Equifax Credit Report?
On mine, not much! Compared to the size and information contained on my credit reports from Trans Union and Experian (both coming in at close to 20 pages) my skimpy Equifax report is basically a one pager with very little information.
The Equifax report is broken out into different sections (although you wouldn't know this by my report!)
- Personal Identification Information -
This section contains
Your name,
Address (including previous addresses)
Social Security Number
Date of Birth
Last Reported Employment
Your Position and Employer
- Public Record Information -
If you have any bankruptcies, liens, or judgements, they would be listed in this section
- Collection Agency Account Information -
If you have any debts in collection, they would be listed here.
-Credit Account Information -
This is the bulk of my Equifax report, one page of credit card accounts. The information here is about 20% of the accounts that are on my other reports. I found no errors.
You will find the following listed for each account:
Name of the Creditor
Account Number (the last 4 digits are hidden)
What type of account: Joint, Individual, Authorized User
Date Opened
Months Reviewed
Date of Last Activity
High Credit (what is the max credit line you have had)
Current Balance on Account
Status: In addition to whether the account is revolving or installments, you will find Info about your payment behavior on this account. This area is very important. I'm listing the Equifax codes here so you know how you are being judged:
0: Approved, not used, too new to rate
1: Paid as agreed
2: 30+ days past due
3: 60+ days past due
4: 90+ days past due
5: 120+ days past due or in collection
7: Making regular payments under special arrangements
8: Repossession
9: Charged off
Obviously, the higher the number, the worse off your credit rating will be. Before you ask, I don't know why there is no number 6. :)
- Additional Information -
This section would contain information provided by a bank, for instance, if you had an account closed for continuously passing checks with insufficient funds or if you had any foreclosures.
- Inquiries -
This would be a list of companies that have requested your credit file (presumably with your permission) from Equifax. Judging by how many inquiries I have on my credit report (0) Equifax is not very popular.
Each time an inquiry is placed on your credit file, the record of that inquiry will remain for up to 2 years. Too many inquiries can be damaging to your credit score, so be sure to check that you recognize all the inquiries on your credit report. If you do not, it's wise to dispute it with the company that placed the inquiry.
How long will items remain on my Credit Report?
Inquiries: 2 years
Credit items: 7 years from the date of last activity*
Bankruptcy: 10 years
* Date of last activity is an important phrase to remember. If you have, for instance, a charge off on your account with the last payment being made 6.5 years ago, and you suddenly have an attack of conscience and pay off the debt in full... you just caused the 7 year clock to start all over again on that debt. It will be listed as a paid charge off for the next 7 years.
Now that you have the Credit Report, what are we looking for?
Basically, we're doing a check up. We are looking for anything that does not seem right. Here are some common items that can negatively impact your credit score and therefore you ability to obtain credit:
Late Payments and Account Delinquencies
If you have made your payments on a timely basis, dispute this
Incorrect personal information
Be sure you name, address(es), social, etc are all accurate
An account that is listed as "closed by creditor" when you are the one who actually requested to have it closed.
Have this changed to read "closed at consumer's request"
Accounts in Collection or Written Off
Unauthorized Inquiries
How to Dispute Information on your Equifax Credit Report
If you see something that is not right on your report, the time is NOW to get it fixed. Equifax included a nice "Research Request Form" with my report. It is prefilled with a special confirmation number, my name, address, and social security number.
If you have something to research, such as an account that is reporting incorrectly, use this form (save a copy) and send it into the special address provided. Alternately, you can initiate a dispute online. I have known people who have done this and obtained satisfactory results.
Something Worth Considering
When a creditor looks at your reports, it's not just current debt they're looking at, but the potential debt that exists as well. So, if you have any accounts you don't really use, you may want to consider closing them. If you do, be sure to tell the creditor you want them listed as "closed at the consumer's request". Having an account listed as "closed by the creditor" can negatively impact your score.
You can have the Last Word
Even if you can't get that negative item removed from your credit file, you can have a consumer statement attached to your credit file that will be included each and every time your report is accessed by a creditor. Will this do any good? Well, it can't hurt. If you have adverse items on your credit report due to extenuating circumstances, you might as well take advantage of this option.
Miscellaneous Info
Nice Summary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Equifax included a nice double-sided page summarizing the FCRA, as well as listing the names, addresses, and phone numbers of Federal Agencies with the authority to enforce the FCRA.
Credit Watch
Equifax offers a yearly fee ($39.95) option of email notifications to you within 24 hours of items changing on your credit report. You also get up to 5 full credit reports per year upon your request. If you want to watch your Equifax file like a hawk and are willing to pay for it, this may be an interesting proposition.
The Website
Equifax maintains a decent website offering a fair amount of information regarding Equifax and your credit report. They also have a small FAQs section devoted to Fraud. Addtionally, there is a special section called "Cool on Credit" which has rudimentary facts on credit and money aimed at kids and parents.
Want to Opt Out?
Are you sick of all those pre-approved credit offers coming at you in the mail? Well, the three CRAs have banded together and provided a phone number that you can call to discontinue receiving all of these offers. It is 888-5-OPTOUT.
In Conclusion
We don't have much choice in dealing with the three CRAs. Out of all of them, I'd have to say that my Equifax information was very spartan, although it was the only report on which I could not find any errors.
The most important thing in dealing with any CRA is to keep tabs on your credit file and take care of inaccuracies promptly. In the case of your credit, an ounce of prevention is most definitely worth a pound of cure.
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You may be interested in these other related reviews:
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http://creditexpert.epinions.com/finc-review-3BD1-13A62650-38FAEE82-prod3
What YOU need to know about Fraud, from an industry insider
http://creditexpert.epinions.com/finc-review-78D6-D46160-3887762C-bd1
Save Money, and even Make Money, by Choosing the Right Credit Card: by an Industry Insider
http://creditexpert.epinions.com/finc-review-6FE-73F2D35-38EE9644-prod6
Your Trans Union Credit Report: What You Need to Know
http://creditexpert.epinions.com/finc-review-5F4A-206FE452-3A2C3368-prod2
Recommended:
Yes
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netKat
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Member: Kat
Location: Maryland
Reviews written: 166
Trusted by: 885 members
About Me:
Analytically inclined mom, bank officer, freelance writer, and internet addict.
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