806. What information should I provide when requesting a credit report?
Description
This article is from the Credit cards and Consumer Credit FAQ, by adams@spss.com (Steve Adams) with numerous contributions by others.
806. What information should I provide when requesting a credit report?
If you have a letter denying you credit, employment, or insurance
within the last 30 days, a copy of the letter should be enough for a
report from the credit bureau that it names. If you're just
requesting a routine copy, you can probably get it with just your
name, address, and Social Security number. Either way, your report
may be more complete if you also include your date of birth and
previous address. (An email correspondent reported in late April
1992 that he sent postcards with just his name, address, and Social
Security number and got reports from Equifax and Trans Union.)
TRW, as part of its effort to create a "true partnership [with]
consumers," according to a TRW memo published on Usenet by an
employee, wants all the following information when you request a
free routine report, and will refuse any requests that omit any all
of it: "Full name of the consumer ... including middle initial and
generation such as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.; current address
including ZIP code; previous addresses with ZIP codes for the past
five years (if the consumer has moved); Social Security Number; year
of birth; spouse's first name ...; [and] photocopy of a billing
statement, utility bill, driver's license or other document that
links the name of the consumer ... with the address the report
should be mailed to."
And do remember to sign your request.
Continue to:
My Books
