By Ray Dall’Osto

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide individuals with a free copy of their credit report, at their request, once every 12 months. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of March 2020 also gives consumers some credit protections. It dictates how companies that send data to the credit bureaus will report accounts for which consumers have payment accommodations in place. If a consumer has an accommodation, and they live up to their end of the deal, an account that had been current previously will continue to be reported that way for both account status and payment history, assuming compliance with the accommodation. A consumer can also ask lenders to add a code to their credit report to indicate that they were “affected by a natural or declared disaster.”

The Federal Trade Commission announced in May 2020 that an agreement has been reached with the nationwide credit reporting companies to allow for free, weekly credit reports, not just one free report per year. Given the increase in the number of scams and frauds that are accompanying the coronavirus pandemic (e.g., fraudulent unemployment compensation applications using hacked personal information), individuals should be more careful, and they can now make themselves better aware, by more frequently checking their credit histories at the official website noted below.

By Ray Dall'Osto

Bank accounts being secretly opened in your name by bank employees. Credit cards opened in your name, charges made, bills never received and never paid, and your credit rating taking a hit for something you never even knew about.  How could this be?

Letters from your mortgage lender warning that payment of your property taxes, water, sewer and special assessments are overdue and must be paid immediately.  But wait, all of my taxes and property-related bills are paid.  What gives?