Credit Coronavirus Effects Unfolding
No one has a crystal ball capable of revealing the uncharted waters we have to navigate in the future as we learn to deal with the near term and far term effects of coronavirus on our credit scores and finances. There will be financial winners and losers as there always are in every disaster. Information that is unfolding will ease some of the fears we all have as we question everything we think we know about credit repair with an uncertain future ahead.
Weekly Free Annual Credit Reports
Experian, Equifax and Trans Union, the 3 major credit reporting bureaus have stepped up in response to credit coronavirus effects. They have volunteered to furnish free credit reports on a weekly basis for 1 year to all consumers who request them ending in April of 2021.
This is a major bonus for credit repair. The free annual credit report required by the FTC of all 3 credit bureaus was always a fine start for credit repair but there was no way to track and closely follow changes as you went along without paying for a service. Between now and April of 2021 a consumer can get a total of 150 reports absolutely for free. Simply log into www.annualcreditreport.com and click on “Request your free credit reports”. One form will get you 3 copies. Choose which copies you want and get ready to answer some “out of wallet” questions. Make sure you have a few minutes with no distractions because if you exhibit any uncertainty the computer may shut you off as possible fraud and make you do it by mail.
Out of wallet questions are questions only you will know the answers to. The “out of wallet” classification is because someone who steals or finds your wallet will find out certain things about you but not find out certain other things. Don’t be irritated if the questions seem stupid. They may ask you about addresses you never lived at, bank accounts you never had and loans you never made. No one knows the answers except you and that’s the idea. No one wants this sensitive information to get into the wrong hands.
These credit reports do not give you a credit score. You can get a FICO score from certain credit cards like Discover and American Express if you have them. Chase’s www.CreditJourney will give you a FICO score even if you don’t have an account with them.
You can now monitor your credit reports weekly if you want as you watch for such things as new accounts, identity errors, incorrect reporting of accounts, balance errors and anything else that doesn’t look right or is not accurate. Gather documents that support your case. I recommend filing any disputes you may have by mail rather than on line.
