Getting copies of your credit report
There are three ways to obtain copies of your credit reports:

• Get it free – truly free.
• Order a Free Online Credit Report.
• Order your credit report – one from each of the three agencies or buy a 3-in-1 report.

Get it free—truly free.

The only way to get a truly free credit report is if you fall into one of the following categories:

• You have been denied credit, employment, insurance, a government license or benefit and a credit report was used in the decision process.*
• You have been denied an apartment or house rental, or were required to pay a higher than usual deposit.*
• You certify that you are unemployed and will be applying for employment within the next 60 days. (Free credit report(s) from any or all of the three credit reporting agencies once per year.)
• You certify that you are a recipient of public welfare assistance. (Free credit report(s) from any or all of the three credit reporting agencies once per year.)
• You certify that you have reason to believe that the information on your credit report is inaccurate due to fraud.

*The institution that denied you must provide the name and contact information of the credit reporting agency they used to obtain your credit information. You have 60 days to request the report from the agency.

There are six states where the law entitles you to a free credit report once or twice a year. Wisconsin is not currently one of them. However, the laws are changing. Check out the News Flash for more information.

Cost

The greatest advantage of ordering one report from each agency is that it is much easier to dispute any inaccuracies. Each report is assigned a number and that number is what you’ll use to reference all communications—and your social security number, of course.

CBR has tested the 3-in-1 reports for ease of dispute and could not get any conclusive information from any of the agencies. It is not clear if a 3-in-1 report from one agency automatically gives you the right to dispute your information for the other two. Although, it may seem like more effort up front to order three separate reports, the payoff comes when you’re actually in the process of making and then verifying disputes.

And certainly, if you’re doing this for the first time, you should order three separate reports. The combined report can be a bit overwhelming.

If you need help! CBR is just a phone call or email away.

Disputing your credit report

If you need help disputing inaccuracies on your credit report, call us at (262) 637-9580 or email us at info@cbracine.org to make a confidential appointment.

CBR has all the necessary forms you’ll need to file your disputes by mail. You’ll need to have current (within 30 days) credit reports from the agencies with which you want to file your disputes.

You can also dispute your credit report yourself by visiting each of the credit reporting agencies’ websites.

WARNING: Credit repair companies cannot legally remove any accurate information from your credit report – negative or positive.

Contacting the Credit Reporting Agencies

If you’d like to see more ordering options, click on the links below to take you directly to the home page of each of the credit reporting agencies.