Free Credit Report due to Adverse Action

In the United States, under federal law known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to receive a free copy of your personal credit report if, based upon the information contained in your credit file, a company takes adverse action against you such as:

• Denial of credit
• Denial of rental housing
• Denial of insurance
• Denial of employment

In cases of adverse action, the company taking such action must notify you in writing, providing the name, address, and telephone number of the credit reporting agency, or bureau, supplying the report that served as the basis for the action or decision.  The notice may or may not contain the specific reasons for the negative action, though it should contain general descriptions of the information that served as the basis for the decision, such as "Excess number of credit inquiries", "Credit balances too high relative to credit limit", "Recent account delinquencies", etc. 

To receive the free copy of your personal credit report, you must request the report from the specified credit reporting agency, by telephone or by mail, within sixty days of your receipt of the adverse action notification.

For credit reports requested by mail due to adverse action within the last 60 days, you will be required to provide the following in your request letter:

• Full Name (First, Middle, and Last including applicable suffixes such as Jr., Sr., or III)
• Current Address
• Previous Address for the last 2 years (5 years for Equifax)
• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Current Employer
• Telephone number
• Signature on your request letter

How To Request Your Free Credit Report Due to Adverse Action Within the Last Sixty Days:

Note: You may only request your free report from the specific credit reporting agency identified in your written adverse action notice as the source of the information that served as the basis for the adverse action, not from all of the agencies.