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BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
CONSUMER
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
What does "permissible purpose"
mean?
The Fair
Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") is the federal law that regulates
the credit reporting industry. The FCRA determines when a credit report can
be obtained and grants credit report access
to companies which have a "permissible purpose."
The FCRA specifies those purposes as the
granting of credit, the collection of a debt, the underwriting of insurance,
employment purposes, for issuing a license as required by some government
agencies or for a legitimate business transaction between a business and a
consumer. Obtaining a credit report under false pretenses, or improper use
of a credit report is a violation of federal law.
How do I find a sales associate in my area?
National
Sales Office
12395
First American Way
Poway,
CA 92064
Phone: 800.255.0792 - ext. 1
Fax: 800.494.2580
Email: contactus@firstam.com
Can you help me with training materials for my employees?
Contact a First American Account Manager or the Sales Support Representative in your region.
Phone: 800.577.8787
Email: contactus@firstam.com
How do I reach Technical Support? What are their hours?
Hours of Operation
Mon-Fri: 7am to 5pm (PST)
Sat-Sun: 8am to 4:30pm (PST)
Phone: 800-423-1150
Fax: 619-938-7045
Email: CREDCO.TechSupport@FirstAM.com
For online DataFlite installation and configuration information, please visit the Help section of www.dataflite.com
I have questions about my account. Who can help me?
Your First American Account Manager. Each region has Account Managers who can answer your questions and provide solutions.
Calls and issues to be resolved can include account set up, billing support, compliance, training, pricing, technical and software support issues, client setup changes, updates, policy, process questions, product, and service questions.
Phone: 800-577-8787
Email: contactus@firstam.com
How should I proceed when an account or public record is incorrect?
If you find a discrepancy, First American CREDCO can assist you. Just call our toll-free customer service number: (800) 637-2422. Our certified-fully trained counselors at the Quality Customer Service Center will explain how to handle the dispute.
There are guidelines provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (Section 611) to follow. In summary:
- The dispute must be conveyed to the consumer reporting agency directly by the consumer.
- The consumer reporting agency must, generally within 30 days, reinvestigate and record the current status of the information. (NOTE: A reasonable period of time is generally considered to be 30 days.)
- If the information is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the consumer reporting agency must delete the information and notify the consumer.
- If the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, then the consumer should directly contact the creditor and/or national repository(ies) to resolve the dispute.
How long are bankruptcies and other delinquent or derogatory credit reportable?
The following statute of limitations have been provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
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| Bankruptcies |
10 years from the date of entry of the order for relief
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| Suits & Judgements |
Seven years from date of entry or expiration of applicable statute of limitations, whichever is longer.
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| Tax Liens – Paid |
Seven years from date of payment
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| Tax Liens – Unpaid |
No limitation.
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| Collections |
Seven years.
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| Charged to Profit & Loss |
Seven years.
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| Criminal Record Limitations |
No limitation on criminal conviction.
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| Other Adverse Information |
Seven years. |
How does my adult child’s credit and mine end up on the same credit report?
Mixed credit does exist in credit bureau data. A parent and adult child who share the same or similar names may develop mixed credit. This is compounded by sharing the same residence address or by having shared a prior residence address. (NOTE: using suffixes with a name such as James Dough, Jr. or James Dough III , as well as your birth date, may assist in eliminating mixed data.
Why are some of the account numbers on my credit report different than what I have?
Credit grantors may shorten, lengthen, or truncate account numbers when reporting to the credit bureaus. These deviations may be the result of software incompatibility between the credit grantor and the credit bureaus. For security reasons, creditors may also scramble account numbers
What do the letters U, I, J, A, etc. represent on my credit report?
The letters represent a code. The ECOA code designates who is responsible for each account and the type of participation for that account, as follows:
- U UNDESIGNATED Not designated by the creditor
- I INDIVIDUAL Individual account
- J JOINT Joint account
- A AUTHORIZED USER Authorized to use someone else’s account
- S SHARED Joint account
- C CO-MAKER Joint responsibility for the account
- B CO-SIGNER Responsibility only in case of default on the account
- M MAKER Individual account
- T TERMINATED Closed account
What is the significance of the "Historical Account Status" that appears on my credit report?
"Historical Account Status" is the month-to-month payment history which may list up to two years of a current or delinquent status. To read it, count from the left to right from the Historical Account Status "history date." Refer to the following list to interpret the numbers or symbols indicated:
- 0 means Too new to rate
- 1 means Current
- 2 means 30 days late
- 3 means 60 days late
- 4 means 90 days late
- 5 means 120 days late
- 6 means 150 days late
- 7 means Wage Earner Plan or Bankruptcy
- 8 means Repossession or Foreclosure
- 9 means Collection or Charge-off
- U means Unrated
- - means Not reported that month
An account that has been paid still appears on my credit report with other than a zero balance. Why?
Most credit grantors report to the credit bureaus on a monthly basis. Time requirements of creditors to prepare and transmit data to the credit bureaus vary. Time requirements of the credit bureaus to load the data into their computer systems also varies. The combined time requirements of creditors and credit bureaus may extend to several days, weeks, or months.
How is it possible that an account is listed as "current" and "closed" at the same time?
The word "current" represents the "Current Account Status" of the account at the time it was closed. (NOTE: If an account was 90 days delinquent at the time it was paid and closed, the "Account Status" would list DEL 90, not "current."
How do I read my Instant
Merge® Report?
View our Instant Merge Sample Report
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