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Secret Credit Bureau Revealed
A fourth major credit bureau, Innovis/CBC, sometimes called the "secret credit bureau," has emerged. No longer is it enough for consumers to monitor their credit files with the "big three" credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Now consumers have to deal with Innovis/CBC, and dealing with them is not easy. Innovis/CBC is hard to find and consumers report Innovis/CBC is reluctant to provide information from its files.
Innovis/CBC is covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act). These laws require Innovis/CBC to provide residents of Western and Midwestern States a free annual copy of their credit report and to provide consumers nationwide a free copy if they have been denied credit on the basis of the contents of the report, are unemployed and plan to seek a job, are on welfare, or believe the file has inaccurate information as a result of fraud.
Comparing Innovis/CBC's consumer web site to the requirements of these laws reinforces the "secret credit bureau" label. The web site neither mentions the right of consumers in Western and Midwestern States to a free credit report (the right will be phased in nationwide by the end of 2005), nor does it mention the other reasons for getting a free report under federal law. And while the "big three" credit bureaus let consumers request their free reports by phone, Internet or mail, Innovis/CBC makes consumers compose their own letter and include a photocopy of their license or utility bill. Innovis/CBC does provide a toll free number, 1-800-540-2505, but the recorded message simply repeats the information found on the web site and tells consumers to request the credit report in writing.
In the past, Innovis/CBC reportedly declined to provide credit reports to consumers because it claimed it did not sell credit files or that it was updating its system. Those excuses are no longer valid since its parent company's web site boasts that Innovis/CBC has been in business for 50 years and that it provides "outstanding" service in the areas of credit reporting and credit scoring. Of course, there is no link from the Innovis web site to the CBC companies web site. Consumers need to search out this information themselves.
Totally absent from the Innovis/CBC site is the FACT Act requirement of making credit scores available to consumers for a reasonable fee. Also absent is a mode for consumers to opt-out of credit card solicitations and to opt-out of information sharing by Innovis/CBC and its affiliates. Innovis/CBC has joined with the "big three" credit bureaus in maintaining a single site for opting out of preapproved credit offers. Consumers can access this site by calling 888-567-8688 and requesting a mail-in form or by visiting www.optoutpreescreen.com. But Innovis/CBC does not mention this anywhere on its web site. Consumers are expected to discover this secret themselves.
Credit bureaus choose to engage in the business of gathering and selling information about American consumers. Because inaccurate reports harm consumers, the government gives them the right to inspect these files and correct errors. Now, in addition to obtaining information from the "big three" credit bureaus (1 877 322-8228 or www.annualcreditreport.com), consumers should check the information maintained by the "secret credit bureau," Innovis/CBC. To make things easier, a privately prepared sample letter requesting a free credit report from Innovis/CBC and opting out of prescreened credit offers can be found at www.rationalsimplicity.com/secret.html.
About The Author: Visit Tim's site at: www.rationalsimplicity.com/secret.html.
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