Understand credit scores and credit reports
Credit is part of your financial power. It plays a crucial role in enabling us to get the things we may need or want, such as homes, vehicles or educations. However, many consumers don’t take an active role in managing and monitoring their credit scores or credit files. There is a common misconception that your “credit score” is your credit report. It is important to understand the difference.
What is a credit score?
A credit score is a number that predicts how likely you are to pay back a loan on time. Information that appears on your credit report is used in a scoring model, which is a mathematical formula, to create the score. Depending on the specific data used to calculate a score, the actual credit score number can vary from one scoring model to another. Most credit scores range from 300 – 850. Higher scores make it easier to qualify for a loan and may result in better terms, such as interest rates and length of the loan.
Seeking Credit
When consumers seek credit, whether it be for a mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or another type of credit product, the lender will request access to the consumer’s 
credit and obtain copies of his or her credit reports and credit scores.
This information will assist the lender in determining whether to extend credit, and if so, the interest rate on the loan or credit card, and the credit limit.
Here are some guidelines that may help you to get and keep a good credit score
- Pay your loans in full and on time.
- Keep credit balances low in relation to the full credit limit
- Develop good payment history over time
- Only apply for the credit you need
- Review your credit reports regularly
What is a Credit Report?
Transunion, Experian and Equifax are the three main credit reporting bureaus. These bureaus provide credit reports which list specific information about a consumer’s credit activity and payment history. Lenders use these reports to help determine whether to extend credit or not. As well, other businesses such as insurance companies and utilities, or prospective employers and landlords, may request access to a consumer’s report for use in making decisions about you. Shall I give you a job offer? Rent you an apartment?
Many people use apps, such as CreditKarma or Credit Sesame, to get a sense of where their credit stands. But these apps do not show your credit report. Instead, they give you only a superficial snapshot of the status of your accounts. They may not show the most up-to-date information about your credit file, which may reflect inaccurately reported missed payments from years ago. The only way you can see the most current information on your credit file is to obtain your credit report from one of the three main bureaus – Transunion, Experian and Equifax.
What type of information is on a Credit Report?
The type of information listed on credit reports can include:
Personal information:
Your name and name changes, current and former addresses, birth date, social security number and phone numbers.
Credit Accounts:
Name of creditor & account type, balance, payment history, credit limit &
date opened/closed.
Collection Accounts:
Credit accounts that have been assigned to a collection agency.
Public Records:
Liens, Foreclosures, Bankruptcies, Civil suits and Judgments
Hard Pull Inquiries:
Lenders that access a consumer’s credit file in the process of extending new credit.
Soft Pull Inquiries:
Businesses access consumer files for the purpose of extending a new
credit opportunity or service.
Check your credit reports for accuracy
Credit reports should be reviewed regularly for accuracy. When incorrect information appears on a credit report, the consumer must send a written dispute to the credit bureau. The dispute letter must clearly state the error that appears on the report and include documents that support the claim for correction. The bureaus have 30 days to respond in writing to the dispute. If the error is not corrected, the consumer may need to seek counsel from a qualified consumer protection lawyer.
How to Obtain a Credit Report?
Send a written request to the credit bureau
Consumers may obtain credit reports by writing to Transunion, Experian and Equifax. Your letter should include two forms of identification, such as a current driver’s license and utility bill. It may take about two weeks to receive your report through the mail. Click here for a template letter.
Request your report online:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Transunion, Experian and Equifax are offering free weekly online credit reports through annualcreditreport.com, a website authorized under federal law that allows you to request free reports from each credit reporting agency every 12 months.
Seek Legal Help from Qualified Consumer Lawyers
Do you have errors on your credit reports? Problems getting credit?
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm that evaluates matters involving credit reporting accuracy and privacy.
Contact us for a no cost legal evaluation of whether your consumer rights have been violated. Pictured: Cary Flitter (center), Andy Milz (left), Jody López-Jacobs (right)
Lenders are not required to notify the borrower in advance of an auto repossession. However, after a vehicle has been taken, the lender must send a letter to the borrower outlining terms to get the vehicle back — whether the lender is a bank, such as Well Fargo or Bank of America, a credit union, such as Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union or Erie Federal Credit Union, or a financial institution such as Driveway Finance or PA Auto Credit. The repossession letter, often called a 
After the lender has made the decision to repossess a vehicle, arrangements are made with a repo agent who will locate the vehicle and take it, often without warning. In advance of the repossession, the repo agent must inform the local police department of their intent to seize the vehicle. The repo agent may come with a tow truck to the borrower’s home or place of employment. Or, they may track the vehicle 
finding it at another location, such as at a shopping mall, doctor’s office, or the address of a family member or friend. Sometimes at the time of purchase, the dealership may have installed a GPS tracking device or a remote control car disabler. The repo agent may use these devices to track vehicles that have been assigned for repossession.
In Pennsylvania, a repossession agent has to be licensed with the Department of Banking and Securities of the Commonwealth and may be hired by a bank, credit union or finance company to repossess cars, trucks motorcycles, RVs, powersport vehicles, boats or airplanes. If a vehicle is missing, the borrower should make calls to the local police and the lender to confirm it was not stolen.
Flitter Milz has the expertise in representing borrowers whose vehicles have been wrongfully repossessed by banks, credit unions and financial companies. 
Before contacting a solar sales company, the homeowner should take time to evaluate whether adding solar panels to the home would provide enough financial benefit, plus meet the energy needs of the household. Factors for consideration are: house size, roof — condition and dimensions, climate zone, community regulations, local electricity rates and government incentives. As well, the homeowner may contemplate the following:
Determine ways that may reduce the current expense such as, changing light bulbs; installing dimmers; fixing a leaking faucet; repairing ductwork. Understand your cost of energy and how much you might save by changing to solar.
Evaluate the sun’s path during daylight hours. How many hours of the day does the roof get sunlight? Calculate the number of hours that your roof is shaded. Does the sun/shade ratio change from season-to-season? Would solar panels provide the same benefit throughout the year?
Does the roof and/or shingles require repair or replacement before installation of panels? Will the roof handle the weight of solar panels? Shall I contact an independent roofer to evaluate the roof’s condition?
Review landscaping around the property for sun exposure to the roof. Will panels get enough sunlight to perform at maximum efficiency? Consult with an arborist to estimate tree growth over a 25 year period and the impact of sunlight over the seasons. Will trees require removal or transplant?
Before entering an agreement for a solar power system, whether as an initial purchase, refinancing an existing contract, or purchasing a home with an existing system, you, the consumer, must obtain a copy of the solar panel contract. Take time to review the terms of the agreement. If you need clarification, consult with a real estate agent or real estate attorney for explanation of your legal and financial obligation. Determine whether this agreement is right for you by evaluating:
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm that evaluates solar panel sales matters for potential violation of the consumer laws involving fraud, such as forged contracts, identity theft and credit reporting privacy violations. 
While most repossessions are initiated by the lender, sometimes it’s the borrower that decides to voluntarily surrender his or her vehicle. Whether or not, after a repossession it’s important for the borrower to understand his or her financial responsibility to satisfy the loan once the lender has taken possession of the vehicle.
can’t meet the terms agreed upon in their auto loan agreement.
First, after taking back the vehicle, the lender will send a repossession notice, or 
The hard facts about Repossession.
When the borrower 
Whether or not the borrower defaulted on the terms of the auto loan, State and Federal laws govern how lenders and repo agents are to 
Send Effective Disputes
Attorney Andy Milz, cautions consumers that COVID-19-related payment deferrals aren’t the only problem contributing to credit reporting errors and drops in credit scores since the pandemic. He states, in this recent Consumer Reports article, that other common credit reporting errors, such as accounts or loans that have been paid off but still appear as unpaid, individual loans reported multiple times, or debt that’s listed as in collections but has been paid off, can pose hurdles, too, if you need a loan or line of credit.
Consumers are entitled to 
If you notice errors on your credit reports, you must 
An individual or business may request access to a consumer’s credit file, but they must obtain written permission from the consumer. Often, during the process of applying for credit, interviewing with a prospective employer or landlord, or applying for utilities, there may be a request to access the consumer’s credit file. Many times the credit application will serve as written permission. Other times, a specific document will be presented to the consumer for his or her signature.
Consumers must 
Being asked to co-sign a loan for a family member or close friend is a larger responsibility than most people realize. When you co-sign a loan, such as an auto loan, you and your credit are on the hook if that relative or friend decides to stop making payments on the loan. In other words, by co-signing, you are a co-borrower and must accept responsibility of terms stated in the loan agreement.
Once the vehicle is sold, the lender may assign collection of the deficient balance to a debt collector or law firm collector. If the loan balance is not paid, the lender could choose to 
Co-signing a loan should not be taken casually. The co-signer must consider whether or not credit may be needed for him or herself. If a co-signer has too much 
individual the money for the purchase. In other words, you lend the individual the money and they pay you back in installments over time, or whatever agreement the two of you come up with.
There may be a knock on your door by a friendly solar panel sales representative. You may be informed of the benefits of solar power and that by choosing to get panels for your home they would be ‘free’.
A solar company sales representative may inform you that by signing up for solar power, you won’t have to pay for the panels themselves — they will be given to you for free.
Because both of these types of arrangements – a lease and a PPA – involve paying for electricity-generating equipment over a lengthy contract period, those ‘free’ panels that you were promised may be anything but. Once installed on your home’s roof, you will still end up paying toward an entire system that is leased or rented, for a number of years. In the end, the savings you may reap from the solar generated electricity itself may not be enough to make up for those ‘free’ panels.
Many door-to-door solar sales representatives often ask the consumer to make quick, on-the-spot decisions about obtaining solar power for the home. It is not unusual for the homeowner to feel pressured and the need to act immediately.
Flitter Milz is a nationally recognized consumer protection law firm experienced in evaluating fraudulent sales tactics, such as forgery, identity theft and unauthorized credit pulls by solar panel salesmen. If you feel as though you may have been 
