An amendment to the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act requires each of the major
nationwide consumer reporting companies
to provide you with a free copy of your credit
report, at your request, once every 12 months.

Free reports have been phased in during a
nine-month period, starting with states in
the West and ending with states in the East.
Beginning September 1, 2005, free reports will
be accessible to all Americans, regardless of
where they live.

To order your free annual report from one or
all the national consumer reporting companies,
visit: www.annualcreditreport.com; call toll-free:
877-322-8228; or complete the Annual Credit
Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual
Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You can print the form
from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three
nationwide consumer reporting companies
individually; they provide free annual credit
reports only through www.annualcreditreport.com,
877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report
Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
OTHER RIGHTS TO FREE REPORTS
Under federal law, you’re also entitled to a free
report if a company takes adverse action against
you, such as denying your application for credit,
insurance or employment, and you request your
report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.
The notice will give you the name, address and
phone number of the consumer reporting company
that supplied the information about you. You’re
also entitled to one free report a year if your
unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60
days; if you’re on welfare; or if your report is
inaccurate because of fraud.

Otherwise, a consumer reporting company
may charge you up to $10.50 for additional
copies of your report.

To buy a copy of your report, Contact:

Equifax:
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian:
888-EXPERIAN
( 888-397-3742)
www.experian.com

TransUnion:
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

Under state law, Consumers in
Co, Ga, Me, Md, Ma, NJ, and VT
already have free access to their credit reports.

If you ask, only the last four digits of your
Social Security number will appear on your
credit reports.

Tags: credit report, ID theft, Identity Theft