1. Credit Files and Reports
Dyalan Peacock, Jacob Walters, Katelyn Hutchinson, Kylie Hutchinson, Tyler Travis

2. Information Included in Credit Files/Reports
Identifying Information
Trade Lines
Credit Inquiries
Public Records and Collections
Identifying Information. Your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth and employment information are used to identify you. These factors are not used in credit scoring. Updates to this information come from information you supply to lenders.
Trade Lines. These are your credit accounts. Lenders report on each account you have established with them. They report the type of account (bankcard, auto loan, mortgage, etc), the date you opened the account, your credit limit or loan amount, the account balance and your payment history.
Credit Inquiries. When you apply for a loan, you authorize your lender to ask for a copy of your credit report. This is how inquiries appear on your credit report. The inquiries section contains a list of everyone who accessed your credit report within the last two years. The report you see lists both "voluntary" inquiries, spurred by your own requests for credit, and "involuntary" inquires, such as when lenders order your report so as to make you a pre-approved credit offer in the mail.
Public Record and Collections. Credit reporting agencies also collect public record information from state and county courts, and information on overdue debt from collection agencies. Public record information includes bankruptcies, foreclosures, suits, wage attachments, liens and judgments.

3. Information Not Included in Credit Files/Reports
Checking, Savings, or Brokerage Account Information
Criminal Records
Race, Religion, Medical History, or Lifestyle Information
Credit Score
A credit report does not include any information about your checking, savings or brokerage accounts. It also does not include any criminal records or information about race, religious preference, medical history, lifestyle, etc. Your credit score is not included in your credit report, but it is generated from information contained in your credit report.

4. Who/Why People Can Access Your Credit Report
Accessing Your Credit Report
Permissible Purpose
Who can access and look at your credit report?
Only you and those you give written permission to can access your credit report.
Why can someone access your credit report?
Only you can access it, but businesses need permissible purpose to access your credit report as defined in the FCRA.

5. How To Remove Collections From Your Credit Report
Credit Report Dispute
How do you remove collections from your credit report?
Use a credit report dispute to have the credit bureaus remove the debt from your credit report. Even if the debt belongs to you, that doesn't mean the collector is legally able to collect from you. If the debt collector first contacted you within the past 30 days, you can have the debt validated.
This graph is about credit scores in general and what makes up your credit score. (List the items and the percents)

6. Checking Your Own Credit Report
Cost
Inaccurate credit on credit reports
Removing inaccurate credit
How to check your credit report?
Under federal law, every 12 months each consumer is entitled to one free copy of his or her own credit report from each of the three credit bureau.
How much does it cost to check it?
It’s free, but if you want an extra copy of your credit report you can pay around $15-$16 for a one time credit report and a score from a single credit bureau. Depends on where you get your credit report from.
How does inaccurate credit get on your credit report?
Identity theft can lead to inaccurate credit on your credit report. They could max out your credit card and fail to make your payments.
How do you remove or fix inaccurate credit?
Under the FCRA both the credit reporting company and the information provider are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.
1.) Write a dispute letter to credit reporting company and include copies of documents to support your position. Include copy of your report and point out the mistakes that need to be fixed. Once fixed they will give you a free copy of your credit report.

7. Fair Credit Reporting Act
What it is
How it affects your credit report
Access to Your Credit Report
Protected Access
Accurate Reporting
Receive Notification of Possible Negative Information
How do you remove inaccurate information or fix your report
What it is
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a Federal legislation enacted in 1970 to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It was intended to protect consumers from the willful and/or negligent inclusion of inaccurate information in their credit reports. The US Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversee its enforcement.
How it affects your credit report
Access to your credit report
The act requires credit reporting agencies to provide you with any information in your credit file upon request once a year. You have a right to a free copy of your credit report within 15 days of your request.
Protected Access
The act limits access to your file to those with a valid need. That includes banks, insurance companies, employers, landlords or others doing business that involves offering credit. You also have the right to know who has requested your credit report in the last year or, for employment-related requests, two years.
Accurate Reporting
If inaccurate information is discovered in your file, the consumer reporting agency must examine the disputed information, usually within 30 days. If the inaccurate information cannot be verified, the consumer reporting agency has a responsibility to remove it. If you are not able to clear up the matter, you are allowed to add a statement to your credit file explaining the situation.
Receive Notification of Possible Negative Information
You have the right to be notified if any financial institution submits, or plans to submit, negative information to a credit reporting agency. This information may be included in a billing statement or a notice of default.
How do you remove inaccurate information or fix your report
Negative information must be removed from your file after seven years. Bankruptcy, however, may remain on record for 10 years, and criminal record information can remain indefinitely.

8. Fair Credit Billing Act
What it is
How does it protect you as a consumer
You Can Dispute a Charge
You Can Challenge the Issuer's Investigation if you Disagree with its Findings
You are Protected if your Credit Card is Lost, Stolen or is Used for an Unauthorized Purpose
You can Temporarily Withhold Payment if you are Dissatisfied with a Credit Card Purchase
What it is
The Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal law designed to protect consumers from unfair credit billing practices and provides guidelines for both consumers and creditors including procedures to manage disputes regarding billing statements.
How does it protect you as a consumer
You Can Dispute a Charge
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have 60 days after the bill was mailed to you to report the incorrect charge.
Once you find a billing error, mail your complaint directly to the card issuer. Calling isn't enough. If you're disputing a charge that was made in error, such as a math error on your billing statement, it's very important that it be in writing.
The card issuer must investigate your dispute and resolve it within two complete billing cycles.
You Can Challenge the Issuer's Investigation if you Disagree with its Findings
If the card issuer investigates your dispute and finds that you were indeed billed by mistake it must correct the billing error and deliver a correction notice.
If the issuer determines you were charged correctly, it can resume collecting the debt. However, it has to provide you with a written explanation of its findings.
If you disagree with the issuer's findings, you can challenge its investigation within 10 days of receiving a written explanation. That will force the card issuer to add a note to your credit report explaining that the charge is still in dispute if you decide not to pay that portion of your bill.
You are Protected if your Credit Card is Lost, Stolen or is Used for an Unauthorized Purpose
You don't have to send the dispute by mail, instead you can call the issuer to resolve the dispute.
You also have more than 60 days to notify the card issuer if you're disputing unauthorized charges.
You're only liable for a maximum of $50 if a stranger misuses your card.
You can Temporarily Withhold Payment if you are Dissatisfied with a Credit Card Purchase
If you're unhappy with a purchase and have a justifiable complaint about its quality.
You have the right to delay paying that specific charge on your credit card bill until your complaint is resolved.
You can't invoke this right until you've gone to the merchant first

9. Complaints About Consumer Credit
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion
Voicing complaints
Who do you report your problems about consumer credit too?
Contact the credit bureau that has the false information. There are three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
How do you voice your complaints?
The best way to voice a complaint is a letter so you and the bureau can keep track of everything you have discussed.

10. Ways employers can/can’t use bad credit against you
If you're dealing with any type of finance for company
C level executives
Rarely determines if you will get the job or not
Most of the time they get a credit report to just get your basic information
C level- Highest level usually chiefs , ceo’s cfo coo
6 states the restrict employer run credit checks California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont or Washington

11. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
What Is it?
How it protects you.
This act is a consumer protection amendment, establishing legal protection from abusive debt collection practices. It prohibits certain practices by debt collectors- businesses that collect debts for creditors.
It does not erase the debt that you owe but it does control the ways that debt collectors do business and deal with consumers in debt.

12. Sources
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