Reading Your Secret Reports: 2/25/05
Most consumers know they can get a copy of their credit report, and they should. But do you know you're also entitled to free access to other personal records that companies keep on you? Liz Crenshaw has the details on Reading Your Secret Reports.This story will open some eyes. A little known Federal Amendment gives all consumers some very important rights to personal information. The thing is, few consumers know anything about this, until right now.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT DATA, THE KIND THAT'S COLLECTED ABOUT YOU, ALL THE TIME.Consumer
I kind of felt that everything I've ever done in my life is on a data base someplace but I never knew I , I never knew how much I could access myself.Crenshaw
AS IT TURNS OUT, YOU NOW CAN ACCESS ALMOST ALL OF IT. WHY? WELL IT'S THE LAW.Peggy Twohig, FTC
Yes, consumers have a right to see information that's collected by companies when they sell it to companies to make decisions about them.Crenshaw
This data we're talking about falls into a category sometimes called "specialty reports" or "other consumer reports." It's something like credit bureau data, only it tracks other information such as, Medical records, Bankruptcy filings, Driving records, Criminal or Civil case records, Insurance information, And banking information.AT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, PEGGY TWOHIG SAYS DATA LIKE THAT IS USED TO MAKE ALL KINDS OF BUSINESS DECISIONS ABOUT YOU.Twohig
Insurance companies want to know for example have you filed claims in the past, and that insurance company might use that to make a decision on whether to grant you insurance and what price to charge you for the insurance.Crenshaw
The problem is, information gathered on you can often be incorrect.LAST YEAR WE REPORTED THAT THE CONSUMER GROUP US PIRG FOUND ERRORS IN 4-OUT-OF-5 CREDIT REPORTS. WE FOUND ERRORS WHEN WE INVESTIGATED TOO. SHERRIE McGREGOR FOUND 91-THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF ERRORS IN HER CREDIT REPORT. TABITHA JACKSON'S CREDIT REPORT CONTAINED PHANTOM ACCOUNTS AND NON-EXISTENT COLLECTION AGENCY ACTIONS. THAT'S WHY INCORRECT "SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORT" INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE CHECKED.A landlord might check a data base that shows which consumers skipped out on rent. And they might think it's you but it's not you. It's someone with a similar name but there's a error in that data base. And you want to know that.And you can know that because of an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, Facta.IT SAYS YOU ARE ENTITLED ONE FREE REPORT EVERY YEAR FROM ANY COMPANY THAT SELLS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION ON A NATIONWIDE BASIS. WHAT'S MORE, IF A BUSINESS MAKES A NEGATIVE DECISION ABOUT YOU BASED ON COLLECTED DATA, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO AN "ADVERSE ACTION NOTICE." IT WILL HAVE A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL SO YOU CAN FIND OUT IF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS ACCURATE.We have a list of the 5 major "Specialty Reporting Agencies" and their phone numbers on our homepage so you can reach them for the yearly free report you're entitled to. The Federal Trade Commission says this is something every consumer should do.Twohig
They have a right to get a nationwide consumer specialty reporting agency's report once every 12 months. I think consumers should be proactive.Crenshaw
If you want the phone numbers to the major specialty reporting agencies, go to nbc4.com, click Consumer, then consumer links. Companies have collected gobs of information on you, you need to make sure it's correct. Research Notes Federal Trade Commission: Free Credit Report Information Nationwide Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies MIB "Medical Claims" (866) 692-6901 ISO "Property, Automotive Loss" (800) 627-3487 ChoiceTrust" Auto and Property Insurance loss" (866) 312-8076 CLUE Chex Systems & SCAN Reports "Check Writing History" Chex Systems, Inc. (800) 428-9623SCAN (800) 262-7771Telecheck "Check Writer Disclosure" (800) TELECHECK
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I kind of felt that everything I've ever done in my life is on a data base someplace but I never knew I , I never knew how much I could access myself.Crenshaw
AS IT TURNS OUT, YOU NOW CAN ACCESS ALMOST ALL OF IT. WHY? WELL IT'S THE LAW.Peggy Twohig, FTC
Yes, consumers have a right to see information that's collected by companies when they sell it to companies to make decisions about them.Crenshaw
This data we're talking about falls into a category sometimes called "specialty reports" or "other consumer reports." It's something like credit bureau data, only it tracks other information such as, Medical records, Bankruptcy filings, Driving records, Criminal or Civil case records, Insurance information, And banking information.AT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, PEGGY TWOHIG SAYS DATA LIKE THAT IS USED TO MAKE ALL KINDS OF BUSINESS DECISIONS ABOUT YOU.Twohig
Insurance companies want to know for example have you filed claims in the past, and that insurance company might use that to make a decision on whether to grant you insurance and what price to charge you for the insurance.Crenshaw
The problem is, information gathered on you can often be incorrect.LAST YEAR WE REPORTED THAT THE CONSUMER GROUP US PIRG FOUND ERRORS IN 4-OUT-OF-5 CREDIT REPORTS. WE FOUND ERRORS WHEN WE INVESTIGATED TOO. SHERRIE McGREGOR FOUND 91-THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF ERRORS IN HER CREDIT REPORT. TABITHA JACKSON'S CREDIT REPORT CONTAINED PHANTOM ACCOUNTS AND NON-EXISTENT COLLECTION AGENCY ACTIONS. THAT'S WHY INCORRECT "SPECIALTY CONSUMER REPORT" INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE CHECKED.A landlord might check a data base that shows which consumers skipped out on rent. And they might think it's you but it's not you. It's someone with a similar name but there's a error in that data base. And you want to know that.And you can know that because of an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, Facta.IT SAYS YOU ARE ENTITLED ONE FREE REPORT EVERY YEAR FROM ANY COMPANY THAT SELLS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION ON A NATIONWIDE BASIS. WHAT'S MORE, IF A BUSINESS MAKES A NEGATIVE DECISION ABOUT YOU BASED ON COLLECTED DATA, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO AN "ADVERSE ACTION NOTICE." IT WILL HAVE A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL SO YOU CAN FIND OUT IF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS ACCURATE.We have a list of the 5 major "Specialty Reporting Agencies" and their phone numbers on our homepage so you can reach them for the yearly free report you're entitled to. The Federal Trade Commission says this is something every consumer should do.Twohig
They have a right to get a nationwide consumer specialty reporting agency's report once every 12 months. I think consumers should be proactive.Crenshaw
If you want the phone numbers to the major specialty reporting agencies, go to nbc4.com, click Consumer, then consumer links. Companies have collected gobs of information on you, you need to make sure it's correct. Research Notes Federal Trade Commission: Free Credit Report Information Nationwide Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies MIB "Medical Claims" (866) 692-6901 ISO "Property, Automotive Loss" (800) 627-3487 ChoiceTrust" Auto and Property Insurance loss" (866) 312-8076 CLUE Chex Systems & SCAN Reports "Check Writing History" Chex Systems, Inc. (800) 428-9623SCAN (800) 262-7771Telecheck "Check Writer Disclosure" (800) TELECHECK
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