1. Credit File and Reports By Eric, Maggie, Sarah, Jackson and Brooke

2. What information is included in credit files/reports? ●Identifying information ●Credit history ●Information of public record ●Information about inquires

3. What information is NOT included in credit files/reports? ●Utility companies ●Landlords ●Local accounts ●Medical accounts ●Debit cards ●Travel and entertainment cards

4. Who’s got access to your credit report? ●Quite a few businesses can be allowed to get your report back. ●The only reason why they can get access to your report is only for legitimate business reasons. ●They do need written consent for your report though.

5. How to remove all collections from your credit report? ●You can remove it, if it is not your debt. ●Check to make sure your debts are done on your credit score. Collectors like to make reports look bad. ●Make sure collectors did not change. ●You can make payments to get rid of collections on your credit report. ●Pay your collection off, easy said, easy done.

6. Checking Your Credit Report ●Check online (AnnualCreditReport.com, FICO) ●How inaccurate credit gets on your account…. o The person applied for credit under different names (Robert Jones, Bob Jones, etc.). o A clerical error was made in reading or entering name or address information from a handwritten application. o The person gave an inaccurate Social Security number, or the number was misread by the lender. o Loan or credit card payments were inadvertently applied to the wrong account. ●How to fix inaccuracies…. ○Contact both the credit bureau and organization that provided the information to the bureau. ○Responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

7. Fair Credit Reporting Act What is it…. a federal law that regulates how consumer reporting agencies use your information. How it affects your credit report…. it gives you the right to ask for your credit report.

8. Fair Credit Billing Act ●Protects buyers from unfair billing practices Billing Error Examples ●Charges not made ●Wrong Amount ●Calculation Errors ●Damaged goods

9. Complaints About Consumer Credit Where? - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Voice Your Opinion?- (855)-411-2372

10. How employers can/can’t use bad credit against you.

11. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ●Eliminate abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices ●Protect reputable debt collectors from unfair competition and encourages consistent state action ●Protect consumers from abuses in debt collection

12. Sources http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/pages/publicationD.jsp?publicationId=897 http://credit.about.com/od/creditrepair/qt/ridcollection.htm https://www.privacyrights.org/how-private-my-credit-report https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0096-fair-credit-reporting-act.pdf http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fair-credit-billing-act-fcba.asp http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Credit_Billing_Act http://www.myfico.com/SEO_Home.aspx