|
There are three major credit bureaus in the United States that store the credit records of consumers and serve to facilitate the credit decision-making processes of banks, loan offices, and credit card companies. Their names are Equifax (formerly known as CBI), Transunion, and Experian (formerly known as TRW). And they are have been the bane and worst nightmare of untold numbers of consumers who have fallen on hard times. The principle of credit bureaus and the credit reports they issue to businesses (and individuals upon request) is simple enough: by revealing the repayment track record of consumers and businesses, they allow lenders to determine the risk involved in loaning out money. However, the flip side of this is that individuals whose finances have "hit a bump" (and this is typically an outcome for the newly disabled) can find themselves in the position of having their credit options severely restricted, or removed, for a number of years. Certainly, in today's society, not having access to credit financing can effectively render a person or family "dead in the water". But what makes the institution of credit reporting even more ominous is the fact that credit bureaus often make mistakes. Faulty credit reporting typically involves husbands and wives, former spouses, individuals with the same name who have lived and done business in the same area, and fathers and sons who share the same name. However, inaccurate, and entirely incorrect, credit information can show up on anyone's credit report. How do you discover whether or not the information on your credit report is correct? There are two ways.
|
| Back to the credit and financial issues section Back to the main page for Disability Secrets |