Georgia Free Credit Report Law
It's always a good idea to know your credit score. It's a valuable resource used to determine your ability to borrow money and at what cost. The score is based on your credit history and spending behavior-information that's tracked by credit reporting agencies that post information in your credit report. Thanks to the passage of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act, residents of the Peach State are entitled to two free credit reports from each of the three national credit reporting agencies every 12 months. In addition, the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act gives all U.S. residents the right to one free credit report every year. Georgia residents can therefore get a total of three free credit reports--two allowable under state law and one permissible under federal law every 12 months.
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Access
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Reports aren't automatically sent out to Georgia residents. It's up to you to contact the central agency responsible for distributing free credit reports by the three national credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can get the second set of free credit reports by directly contacting the three national credit reporting agencies, which send the copies by mail. A fee is charged only when you exceed the number of free reports you're allowed.
Credit Reporting Agencies
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Esperian, Equifax and TransUnion each use the same single, central source to distribute free credit reports.
You can contact the central source in three basic ways: mail, phone, and online. Online is the easiest way to access this information. The central source website is as follows: annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. -
Fraudulent Websites
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Other than the three national credit reporting agencies and the central source used to disperse free credit reports, there aren't any other authorized vendors that can legitimately provide you this information. Be cautious of unsolicited emails offering free credit reports, and don't give out your personal information. A valid company won't ask you for this information.
Reviewing Report
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You should regularly review your credit report to make sure it doesn't contain mistakes and to ensure information is reported correctly. It's also always wise to verify that information is properly relayed to credit reporting agencies when you misplace, lose or have your credit card stolen. Mistakes are correctable and repairs can be made. However, it's important they're found as soon as possible to initiate the correction process.
Federal Law
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Georgia residents also have the added benefit of a third free credit report under the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) that passed Congress in 2003. FACTA gives every U.S. resident the right to obtain a free copy of their credit report each year. You're also able to request a free report if a company denies your application for a loan, insurance, or employment, but you'll only have 60 days to initiate the request following the action.
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References
- Photo Credit peach image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
