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Mailbag Monday: Using The Fair Credit Reporting Act

debitcardHave you ever heard of a person being denied obtaining a credit card with a FICO score of 811? I pay my credit cards in full every month. This credit card offered two plane tickets. I really didn’t need the card, but I travel a lot and thought it was a nice benefit. What are your thoughts?

-Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I haven’t heard of an example specifically like this one recently – but I can suggest why it might happen. You probably know there are three different credit bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. You have credit scores created from the information in your files at each of those bureaus. Because some creditors report information to one bureau, but not the others, your credit scores can be different, sometimes very different. (And by the way, I’m giving you a very simple example here. In fact, you have many credit scores that are used for different purposes – as I explained in this column for Fortune.com.

What you should do at this point is utilize the Fair Credit Reporting Act to figure out what happened to you. Any lender that denies you credit must provide you with the name and address of the credit bureau they contacted. You also have the right to a free copy of your credit report from the bureau that provided the information used to make the decision. Make sure that the score you pulled is from the same bureau that was used by the lender. Go through the report carefully and look for information that’s inaccurate or incomplete. If you find anything, dispute it. Also, pull the score from this bureau as well as the diagnostic report that tells you which factors most influence your score. (It may cost you a few bucks, but I’d pay for it in this case).  All of these steps may help you figure out what went on.