Note: The Center For Debt Management suggest you Monitor Your Credit Report regularly.
Lexington Law Firm is our preferred choice for fast and effective credit repair. Lexington Law
is reputable and is a member of the BBB. They have a satisfactory record with the bureau.
Women and Credit Histories
- Mrs. Becker had been using her husband's department
store charge card for several years. The charges were
billed to her husband, but she took responsibility for
paying the bills on time. Recently, she applied for her
own credit card from the store and her application was
denied. The reason? The store had no record of her
bill-paying history on her husband's account.
- Louise Martin changed her name when she got divorced.
Although she had several successful credit accounts in
her married name, her applications for credit in her
maiden name were repeatedly denied. Creditors told her:
"We cannot find a record of your credit history under
the name you gave on your application form."
- Bess Fenton, a young single woman, recently moved to
the West Coast to start a new job. She applied for her
first credit card with a national oil company, but
since she had no record with the local credit bureau,
her application was denied. Her question: "If it takes
credit to get credit, how do I begin?"
You may have faced similar problems when you have
applied for credit. Each year, many women are denied credit
because they cannot show how they have used it. A good
credit history is the way most companies predict your future
success using credit. The record of your payment on credit
cards, charge accounts, installment loans, and other credit
accounts is how you get a "track record." It gives a
creditor evidence that you are a good credit risk.
Know Your Rights Under The Law
Two federal laws give you specific rights that help
protect your credit history and make it easier for you to
obtain credit:
- The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits a
creditor from discriminating against you on the basis
of sex or marital status in any aspect of a credit
transaction. The ECOA also forbids discrimination on
the basis of your race, color, age, national origin,
religion, because you receive public assistance
payments, or because you exercised rights under the
federal consumer credit protection laws.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumer
privacy and safeguards the accuracy of credit bureau
reports.
Ask The Credit Bureau To Help
Credit bureaus gather and sell credit information about
consumers and are a principal source of information about
your credit history. Creditors usually rely on credit bureau
reports before issuing a line of credit. So it makes sense
to ask your local credit bureaus for your report. You can
find them listed in the telephone Yellow Pages under "Credit
Bureaus" or "Credit Reporting Agencies." The bureaus will
report whatever they have on file, which might include what
kinds of credit accounts you have, how punctually you pay
your bills, and whether you have ever filed for bankruptcy
or were sued. The report may include other credit references
that you can use in new credit applications to give a more
complete picture of your financial situation.
Some credit references may not appear in your file
simply because the creditor may not report the information
to the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus obtain most of their
information from those creditors who send them monthly
reports. Some creditors only report delinquent accounts;
accounts with good payment histories may go unreported. Most
major national credit card companies report their accounts
to credit bureaus, but many local creditors do not.
Fill An Empty Credit File
If creditors have failed to supply information to your
credit file, or if you have never had credit in your own
name, a "no file" report can cause your application to be
rejected.
For example, if you become separated, divorced, or
widowed, or simply want credit in your own name, a credit
bureau may report "no file" exists for you. You might have
a great credit history, but all in your husband's name. You
may have the same problem when you marry and change your
name. Old accounts held in your maiden name may not
automatically be transferred to a file listed under your
married name. For all practical purposes your credit history
is lost. Therefore, it is important to check with the credit
bureau after a name change to ensure that old account
information has transferred to a file under your new name.
For your own protection you should learn how to prevent
credit history "evaporation." There are steps you can take
to fill an empty file with your past credit history or to
build the file with new information.
Kinds of Accounts
To ensure that you are protected should you become
separated, divorced, or widowed, find out now what kind of
credit accounts you have. You can either check the
application(s) or ask your creditor(s). There are two basic
kinds of credit accounts.
- An individual account. When you apply for an individual
account, only your own income, assets, and credit
history are considered by the creditor. Whether married
or single, you alone are responsible for paying off the
debt on this account. The account will appear on the
individual's credit report.
- A joint account. The income, financial assets, and
credit history of both spouses are taken into
consideration for a joint account. No matter
who actually handles the household bills, both spouses
are responsible for seeing that all debts are paid. A
creditor who reports the credit history of a joint
account to credit bureaus must report it in both names
(if the account was opened after June 1, 1977).
If you are separating from or divorcing your spouse,
you should immediately cancel your joint credit card
account(s). While any account balance remains your mutual
responsibility, canceling the account(s) will prevent
further use or abuse of the card(s) that, if left unpaid,
could damage both of your credit reports.
Under the ECOA, a creditor cannot automatically close
or change the terms of a joint credit card account solely
because of the death of your spouse. However, in some
instances a creditor may ask you to update your application
or reapply. This can happen if the account was initially
granted based on all or part of your spouse's income and if
the creditor has reason to suspect your income is inadequate
to support the credit line.
Build Your Credit File
- If you have never had credit, start building a good
record now. A local bank or department store may
approve your credit application even if you do not meet
the standards of large creditors. But do not apply for
too many accounts at one time. Credit bureaus keep a
record of each creditor who inquires about you. Some
creditors may deny your application if they think you
are trying to open too many accounts and may exceed
your ability to pay them.
- If you have had credit before under a different name or
in a different location, make sure your local credit
bureau has complete and accurate information about you
in a file under your current name. Most cities have two
or three bureaus. Call each bureau to find out if they
have a file on you. They may charge a small fee for
checking your file.
- If you are married, know that you have the right to
apply for a credit account in your own name based on
your own financial qualifications.
- If you were married or divorced recently and changed
your name, ask your creditors to change your name on
your accounts. Once you verify that these accounts are
in your new name, your complete credit history should
be reported correctly to the credit bureau.
Give Your Best Credit References
List your best credit accounts, open and closed, on any
credit application—including accounts you shared with
your husband or former husband.
Also ask the creditor to consider the credit history of
accounts that are reported in your husband's or former
husband's name only. The creditor must consider this
information if you can show it reflects your ability to
manage credit. For example, you may be able to show through
cancelled checks that you made payments on an account, even
though it is listed in your husband's or former husband's
name only.
Offer to assist the creditor in providing verification
of your credit references when an account history does not
appear in a credit bureau report. If you can show a credit
history applied to you, even though it was in your husband's
or former husband's name, the creditor must consider it. Be
aware, however, that if your husband's credit history on a
shared account was bad, the company will consider that
credit history yours as well. If any previous history was
unfavorable but does not accurately reflect your
creditworthiness, explain this to the creditor.
Credit History For Married People
The ECOA states that when creditors report histories to
credit bureaus or to other creditors, they must report
information on accounts shared by married couples in both
names. This is true only for accounts opened after June 1,
1977. If you and your spouse opened an account before that
time, ask the creditor to use both names.
Ask Questions If Your Application Is Denied
The ECOA gives you the right to know the specific
reasons for denial if you receive a notice that your credit
application was denied. If the denial was based on a credit
report, you are entitled to know the specific information in
the credit report that led to the denial. After you receive
this information from the creditor, you should visit or
telephone the local credit bureau to find out what
information was reported. The bureau cannot charge for
disclosure if you ask to see your file within 30 days of
being notified of a denial based on a credit report. You may
ask the bureau to investigate any inaccurate or incomplete
information and correct its records.
If you live in a community property state*, a creditor
may consider your husband's credit history even if you are
applying for your own account. You still should make certain
that your local credit bureau has a separate credit file in
your name.
If you have questions about the ECOA and the FCRA or a
complaint, write to: Correspondence Branch, Federal Trade
Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580. While the FTC cannot
intervene in individual disputes, the information you
provide may indicate a pattern of practices requiring action
by the Commission.
* Community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho,
Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington.
Note: The Center For Debt Management suggest you Monitor Your Credit Report regularly.
Lexington Law Firm is our preferred choice for fast and effective credit repair. Lexington Law
is reputable and is a member of the BBB. They have a satisfactory record with the bureau.
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