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To: nextrade! who wrote (25429)	11/25/2004 7:22:27 PM
From: nextrade!	Respond to of 306849

Free Credit Reports Will Become Available Starting Dec. 1 biz.yahoo.com The Fact Act- The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 Thursday November 25, 7:01 am ET By Eileen Alt Powell, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Millions of Americans are about to get free annual copies of their credit reports. Starting Dec. 1, residents of Western states along with Alaska and Hawaii will be able to get free copies of the reports every year from the three major credit agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. People in the Midwest can begin ordering theirs March 1, while those in the South start June 1. Residents of Eastern states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories are last, starting Sept. 1. The public's access to free copies of their reports, which track the amount of debt consumers have and whether they pay their bills on time, was mandated by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The law, better known as the FACT Act, was designed to help Americans better monitor the reports that are used by banks and merchants to determine if they'll lend to a consumer, and at what interest rate. Joel Winston, associate director of the financial practices division at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., said Congress had two main goals in passing the law. "The first was to help consumers spot identity theft," Winston said. "The rationale was that the more consumers are familiar with their credit reports, the more they're likely to spot things showing up related to ID theft." The second, he said, was increasing complaints about inaccuracies in the reports. "There were concerns that errors could mean consumers would be denied credit, or would get it only at higher rates," Winston said. "Getting their reports regularly should enhance consumers' ability to find those errors and get them corrected." In coordination with the FTC, the three credit bureaus have started a collaborative program to deliver the reports.