CONSUMER RIGHTS LAW FIRM SERVING CLIENTS IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND NATIONWIDE
Credit clearly affects your ability to obtain home and auto loans or qualify for favorable interest rates. But bad credit can also impact your ability to sign up for a cell phone plan, land your dream job, and much more. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure your credit report is accurate.
If your credit report has suffered through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to damages. Please contact the Chicago credit reporting lawyers at Markoff Leinberger today at 312-726-4162
to schedule your free consultation.
Our Chicago lawyers recognize just how
much your credit report can affect various aspects of your
life.
What Is A Credit Report?
You actually have three credit reports — one from each of the nationally-recognized credit reporting agencies. They are:
- Equifax
- TransUnion
- Experian
These three private corporations hold the keys to your creditworthiness. Creditors provide them with every negative or potentially negative piece of information that may affect your credit, and with so many daily transactions, the potential for erroneous information is significant.
What Could Cause My Credit Report To Suffer?
Your credit report is meant to contain information about how well you manage credit. So, reports contain such information as
- How long you have held various credit accounts
- Your history of on-time and late payments
- Your balances
- Your history of missed payments
All of this information ultimately affects your ability to obtain credit for a mortgage, a car, or a student loan. Credit card fraud is a leading cause of inaccurate information on credit reports, but credit agencies also bear responsibility in many cases.
What Rights Do You Have?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you one free copy of your credit report per year from each of the three credit reporting agencies. It’s important that you take advantage of this and check your credit report thoroughly every year to catch any potential inaccuracies.
The Act also guarantees consumers the right to request that these agencies correct inaccurate information on your credit report. In most cases, credit reporting agencies are only allowed to include negative information that dates back 7 years. And you have the right to sue credit reporting agencies and creditors who supply inaccurate information to these agencies. A credit reporting lawyer can help you recover damages in these situations, including extra interest paid and denials of loan applications.
Consumers also have recourse through the Credit Repair Organizations Act of 1996.
If you have needlessly suffered because of inaccurate information on your credit report, please contact Markoff Leinberger today using our online form or calling 312-726-4162
to speak with one of our credit reporting lawyers.
