{"id":907,"date":"2019-12-16T13:52:10","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=907"},"modified":"2023-11-14T16:15:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T21:15:35","slug":"credit-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/credit-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Credit 101"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Credit can be a confusing concept. CAP wants to make it simple for\nyou! This post is a guide to credit, credit bureaus, credit reports and more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is credit?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your \u201ccredit\u201d refers to your ability to borrow money\nand how much you can borrow. Your \u201ccredit score\u201d is determined by your credit\nhistory, and suggests how likely you are to repay your loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a credit bureau?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As noted in our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/how-did-they-get-that-credit-reporting-and-your-personal-information\/\">September 2017 blog post<\/a>,\ncredit bureaus receive regular reports about your credit history from banks,\nfinancial institutions, landlords, utilities, and even employers.&nbsp;The\ncredit bureaus then put all of this information about your use of credit\ntogether into a single file \u2014 your \u201ccredit report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a credit report?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A credit report provides you with a detailed overview of your credit history prepared by the credit bureau. A credit report includes sensitive information, such as your Social Security number and history of employment. It will also indicate whether or not your accounts are in good standing and when they were opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How can I get my free credit report?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each\nof the nationwide credit reporting companies \u2014 Equifax, Experian, and\nTransUnion \u2014 to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report once\nevery 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To access your free credit report, you can\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visit&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.annualcreditreport.com\/\">annualcreditreport.com<\/a>&nbsp;or call 1-877-322-8228.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complete the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/sites\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/files\/articles\/pdf\/pdf-0093-annual-report-request-form.pdf\">Annual Credit Report Request Form<\/a>&nbsp;and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O.\nBox 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact the three\nnationwide credit reporting companies individually:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.equifax.com\/\">equifax.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Experian: 1-888-397-3742 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.experian.com\/\">experian.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.transunion.com\/\">transunion.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Your Source for a Truly Free Credit Report? AnnualCreditReport.com | Federal Trade Commission\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HXgMLpc7ivE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Did you notice something suspicious on your credit report?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the credit\nreporting company and the information provider are responsible for correcting\ninaccurate or incomplete information in your report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To dispute an error on your credit report,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/ask-cfpb\/how-do-i-dispute-an-error-on-my-credit-report-en-314\/\">follow these steps<\/a>&nbsp;provided\nby the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a credit freeze?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This&nbsp;<em>free<\/em>&nbsp;tool lets you restrict access to your credit\nreport, which makes it more difficult for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/features\/feature-0014-identity-theft\">identity thieves<\/a>&nbsp;to\nopen new accounts in your name. A credit freeze does not affect your credit\nscore, it just protects your credit. Under a freeze, you can still access your\nfree annual credit report, and it does not affect your ability to apply for a\njob, rent an apartment, or buy insurance. However, if you are opening a new\naccount, you will need to lift the freeze temporarily. Lifting the freeze is\nfree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to learn more about credit freezes? Check out this\nhelpful&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/0497-credit-freeze-faqs\">FAQ page<\/a>&nbsp;produced by\nthe Federal Trade Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is a credit fraud alert?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A credit fraud alert is a&nbsp;<em>free<\/em>&nbsp;tool that makes it more difficult for identity theft and\/or fraud to occur. According to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/what-know-about-credit-freezes-fraud-alerts\">FTC<\/a>, when you have a fraud alert in place, a business must verify your identity before it issues credit. Once you place the alert, it will be active for one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To place a credit fraud alert, contact one credit\nbureau and ask to place the alert. That credit bureau will then contact the\nother two bureaus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Are you suspicious that identity theft has occurred?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see items on your credit report that might signal fraud,\nyou can file an identity theft report with the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/features\/feature-0014-identity-theft\">Federal Trade Commission<\/a>.\nReporting identity theft to your local police is another important step in this\nprocess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Signs of fraud on a credit report may include unfamiliar accounts and charges. The FTC provides a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/0271-warning-signs-identity-theft\">helpful<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/consumer.ftc.gov\/consumer-alerts\/2022\/02\/how-tell-if-someone-using-your-identity\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/0271-warning-signs-identity-theft\">list<\/a>&nbsp;of other identity theft warning signs, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inexplicable withdrawals\nfrom your bank account<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Merchants refuse your\nchecks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The IRS warns you that\nmore than one tax return was filed in your name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You receive an official\nnotice concerning a data breach that may have affected you<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Questions about checking your credit and\/or identity theft? Call the Consumer Assistance Program! (800) 649-2424<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contributing Writer: Madison Braz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit can be a confusing concept. CAP wants to make it simple for you! This post is a guide to credit, credit bureaus, credit reports and more. What is credit? Your \u201ccredit\u201d refers to your ability to borrow money and how much you can borrow. Your \u201ccredit score\u201d is determined by your credit history, and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/credit-101\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Credit 101<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[481474,459995,505512,621875,505509,505516,505515],"class_list":["post-907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-consumer","tag-credit","tag-credit-bureau","tag-credit-fraud","tag-credit-freeze","tag-credit-report","tag-identity-theft","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1655,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907\/revisions\/1655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}