Completely free credit reports can answer questions about the state of your credit but they're not
as much help on your daily finances. It's important to know how much credit you have but it's
usually more urgent to know how much you have in your checking account. And since your
bill-paying history is a significant part of completely free credit reports, it's nice to know that
you'll have the bill-paying money when you need it.
The use of ATM, check or debit cards has made electronic cash a part of everyday life.
And the Electronic Fund Transfer Act(EFTA) was designed to answer problems related to this
new form of cash. Because electronic funds are a replacement for paper checks or cash,
the EFTA says that you're entitled to have a receipt anytime you make an electronic deposit
or withdrawal. Just like completely free credit reports summarize credit transactions, the
statements from your bank must also show all electronic transfers and include who was
paid and if fees were charged.
If there are errors in completely free credit reports, you have the right to have them
corrected. And if there's an error on your receipt or bank statement, the EFTA provides
rules to be followed to correct it. Write or call the financial institution within 60 days of
getting the error. The institution must investigate the matter and correct it within 45 days.
If the error is for an account open within the last 30 days, the investigation is allowed to
take up to 90 days.
One of the reasons to get completely free credit reports is to detect credit fraud. Likewise,
the EFTA also cover issues of theft or loss of electronic funds cards.
- If you notify the card's issuer within two business days after learning of the card's
loss, your liability is limited to $50.
- If you don't notify the card's issuer within two days, the law allows your liability to
increase to $500.
- And if you fail to notify the card's issuer of an unauthorized funds transfer within 60
days of showing up on your statement, your liability is total and you can lose whatever
is in your account.
To find out where to get completely free credit reports and free 30 days of credit monitoring,
please go to
free instant credit reports.
