When a mortgage company or lender runs your credit report for a mortgage application or preapproval they are required under Federal Regulations to provide you with a copy of your Credit Score Disclosures indicating the credit scoring from either or all of the three major credit bureaus used for the report. The three major credit bureaus are Trans-Union, Equifax and Experian. Mortgage professionals are not permitted to send you a copy of your credit report. You may only receive a copy of your credit report directly from the three credit bureaus.

Consumers are entitled to obtain a free copy of their credit reports once a year directly from the three credit bureaus (without a credit score).

The bureaus are required to provide you with a free annual credit report so that you may correct any errors that appear on your report. You can find those free reports HERE

When you visit the website to obtain your free report you can dispute inaccuracies in the report. You cannot “repair” your credit and remove negative information that is accurate; you can only request the report be changed to correct errors.

Examples of common errors are:

-Incorrect current or previous address
-Incorrect employment information
-Misspelled name or name variations
-Invalid “AKA” names
-Mistaken derogatory reporting by a creditor
-Balances of accounts show as current yet are actually paid or satisfied
-Incorrect reporting of credit accounts not owned by the consumer
-Accounts or identifying information of a family member with similar name

The Federal Trade Commission recommends consumers deal directly with the credit reporting agencies to correct credit reports. The FTC warns against using “credit repair” companies, going so far as to call these “scams” on consumers. You can find out more HERE on the FTC website

Consumers should also beware of purchasing credit scores as the scores often sold to consumers differ dramatically from the FICO scores used by financial professionals. The three credit bureaus created a rival “proprietary” scoring system to FICO and often it is the rival system that consumers purchase. PowerHouse Solutions mortgage professionals have often encountered dramatic differences between the FICO scores used in the mortgage lending process and the scores purchased by consumers online at the credit bureau websites.

Better that you contact a PHS Solutions-Provider today for a free prequalification (including credit report) than follow the lead of some unshaven guy on television singing in his kitchen with his band about credit scores that you have to pay for.