Credit Reporting and Credit Scores
The Department does not regulate credit reporting agencies or have regulatory authority over the information sent by creditors to credit reporting agencies.
Your credit score is a vital part of your finances and can greatly impact your ability to obtain credit cards, car loans, mortgages, and other types of credit. Additionally, some other businesses, such as insurance and utility companies, rely on credit scores to determine the terms they are willing to offer services to you. A higher credit score indicates to these companies that you are at a lower risk.
Your credit score is based on your credit experiences, including your payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit inquiries, types of credit utilized, and whether you’ve filed for bankruptcy. This information is compiled by the credit reporting agencies (e.g., Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) and each gives you a credit score. These numbers, as well as specific information on your credit report, are what lenders and other companies look at to make credit and pricing determinations. For more information on understanding credit scores, please visit www2.myfico.com/Downloads/Files/myFICO_UYFS_Booklet.pdf
Georgia Consumers have the right to receive up to 3 free credit reports per year from the three credit reporting agencies. Please visit www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action for more information. Be aware that this website is the only verified source for free credit reports. Other companies or services offering these reports may be attempting to collect your personal information to sell or use for fraudulent activity.
Information about your credit experiences is provided to the credit bureaus by your creditors, including, but not limited to, credit card issuers, lenders, and collection agencies. Companies are required to send accurate information to the credit bureaus within a certain number of days of occurrence. Your credit score changes based on the most recent information provided by these companies.
It is important to be aware of any significant changes to your credit scores. In some cases, you may identify an error on your credit report based on a significant change to your credit score. If you identify an error, you should notify the credit reporting agency immediately. Additionally, you should notify the company that provided apparent inaccurate information, if applicable. The credit reporting agency is required to investigate your allegations. If the information is inaccurate, the credit reporting agency should remove it from your report. You can dispute errors on your credit report directly with the credit reporting agencies at the following links:
Equifax: www.equifax.com/personal/disputes
Experian: www.experian.com/disputes
Transunion: https://www.transunion.com/customer-support/contact-us-consumers
For more information on disputing errors on your credit report, please visit www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0151-disputing-errors-credit-reports.
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which provides basic credit rights to all consumers. The FTC has published resources regarding all aspects of credit reporting, credit scores, and other issues that may impact your credit. For more information, please visit www.consumer.ftc.gov/.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has published extensive resources about credit scores and credit reporting. Additionally, if you have an issue that has not been resolved through the dispute process outlined above, you may wish to file a complaint with the CFPB. Please visit www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/ to access these resources.
The Georgia Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Division protects Georgia consumers from scams, including credit reporting scams. For more information or to report a credit reporting scam in Georgia, please visit consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-topics/credit-reports-and-credit-score.