Credit Reports

You deserve a credit report that is accurate and one that is kept private.

Your credit report affects many things in your life, like your ability to secure a loan, apply for a mortgage, and get approval for new credit. It's important that all of the information listed is accurate. If you have any listings on your credit report for repossessions, late payments, or other unidentifiable information that needs to be removed, updated or corrected, we can help you take steps to get you the accurate report you deserve.

What is a Credit Report?

Your credit report is a record of all your credit activity and history over time. It contains the names of all the companies that have provided you credit or loans, in addition to the credit limits and loan amounts.

Every month lenders submit updates on your credit profile to at least one of three credit reporting companies- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. It’s important to note, not all information is updated to all three bureaus every month. As well, many lenders often report at different times of each month. Therefore, your information may vary slightly from one bureau’s report to the other.

You will also see payment histories and delinquent accounts, such as bankruptcies, car repossessions, foreclosures or lawsuits as part of your record. Congress passed The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to protect consumers like you from unauthorized access to credit reports and the reporting of incorrect or false information.

Why is a Credit Report Important?

When you apply for credit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York, whether it be a car loan or new credit card, or a home improvement such as solar panels, lenders will use your report as a way to gauge your creditworthiness, or whether or not you are financially responsible.

Every month lenders submit updates on your credit profile to at least one of three credit reporting companies- TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. It’s important to note, not all information is updated to all three bureaus every month. As well, many lenders often report at different times of each month. Therefore, your information may vary slightly from one bureau’s report to the other.

Your credit report has an impact on your financial life, by providing all the numbers and information that factor in to creating your credit score. Negative information such as late payments, foreclosures, judgments or vehicle repossessions, can hurt your chances at getting approved for a loan or make the loan more expensive overtime.

Harmful information can remain on your credit report for up to 7 ½ years, so it’s important to review all your information regularly and dispute credit report errors that could be harming your ability to get a loan or making them more expensive if you are approved.

Our credit report lawyers can help evaluate whether the information is accurate and help you remove any wrongful credit report repossessions and other items damaging your score to help you improve your credit history.

How Do I Check My Credit Report For Errors?

You can obtain a free credit report from TransUnion, Experian or Equifax every twelve months by writing a Credit Report Request Letter and submitting it along with two forms of identification.

When you take a look at your report, make sure you first recognize all the accounts listed. If you see any unidentifiable information on your credit report or someone else’s information on your credit report, you should get in touch with the company right way to ensure it isn’t a result of identity theft.

Secondly, make sure all the account information is correct. Other errors you should keep an eye out for are:

• Multiple entries for the same account

• Re-insertion of inaccurate information

• Re-aged debt (debt that should have been removed after 7 ½ years)

• Closed accounts reported as open
• Someone else's information/mis-merged file (i.e. Father/Son- Sr./Jr.)

What do I do if I find an error or someone else’s information on my credit report?

You want to make sure to dispute credit report errors, so that you can confirm all your information is accurate and up to date.  It is important to dispute effectively with the credit bureaus. To do so, you must send a letter to the credit bureau and specify the inaccurate information on your credit report. Include copies of the credit report that illustrates the error, plus any documents to support your claim. 

Credit reporting companies must review the disputed items, usually within 30 days. Upon request, the credit bureaus must also provide all the relevant data from the company that provided the information. This company is called the furnisher. If the furnisher finds that the disputed information is incorrect, they must notify all three credit reporting companies so the error can be corrected.

If inaccurate information is not corrected and remains on your report, contact our credit report lawyers in Philly for an evaluation of all your information. We have helped many consumers just like you in PA, NJ, NY and nationwide, dispute credit report errors. Your credit report must accurately reflect your credit history.

Credit Privacy: Who can access my credit report?

The FCRA states that the consumer must provide permission for a person or a company to pull his or her credit report. To evaluate a consumer's creditworthiness, the FCRA allows creditors, employers, landlords and others to pull a consumer's credit report for permissible purposes.  However, the consumer must provide written permission to the party requesting access to the reports. If a credit report is requested without a permissible purpose, and your written permission, then your credit report is off limits.

Permissible Purposes

• Credit Application, such as a mortgage, home equity loan, auto loan, personal loan or credit card
• Insurance Policy
• Employment, such as a new job or promotion
• Landlord
• Business Transaction
• Government Benefits or Licenses

Impermissible Purposes

• Credit card company that pulled your report when you were not an obligor on the account.
• Creditor that pulls your report after discharging that debt in bankruptcy
• Company, or salesman, attempting to evaluate potential customer's financial risk, without asking permission
• Landlord attempting to collect past-due rent.
• Employer, or prospective employer, that does not ask your permission

Credit Accuracy: Whether it's good or bad, the information must be correct.

The FCRA protects you from certain credit report listings, like inaccurate or incomplete information, duplicate listings for the same debt, unfamiliar accounts that you didn't open, and outdated information. If there are errors on your Transunion, Experian or Equifax credit report, you should send written disputes to the credit bureau.  Your dispute letter should include a current copy of your credit report which highlights the error, along with documentation that supports your dispute.  The bureaus have 30 days to respond to your dispute.

If the credit bureau does not correct information on your report, contact us for a potential violation of your consumer rights.  There is no cost for the legal evaluation, and we'll help you get on the path to an accurate credit report. We can help you dispute credit report errors and prevent future errors, all at no cost. Take the necessary steps to clean up your credit to get the accurate report you deserve.

Are you a class member in an FCRA class action lawsuit? You may want to OPT OUT and pursue an individual case.

If you received a notice for a class action lawsuit, contact our office to discuss your options.  We can explain the nature of the lawsuit and help evaluate whether your consumer rights have been violated.  You may want to exclude yourself from the class action and consider pursuit of a case to preserve your individual rights.  Contact us for a no cost consultation.

Flitter Milz Track Record: Credit Reporting Cases (partial list)

• Ciccarone v. B.J. Marchese, Inc.
• Evantash v. G.E. Capital Mortgage Services, Inc.
• Hall v. Harleysville Ins. Co.
• Hernandez v. Lamboy Furniture, Inc.
• Lukens v. Dunphy Nissan, Inc.
• Siconolfi v. Collection & Recoveries