There's a lot of information you can get with a free online instant credit check. But when
a creditor looks at a credit report, he's required to exclude certain information in making
a decision to grant or deny credit. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was written to ensure
that everyone gets treated fairly when obtaining credit. Only the financial factors you see
in your free online instant credit check are to be considered by a creditor when judging
a credit application.
One of the items that shows up on a free online instant credit check is your age. And
usually a creditor can't use your age when considering your credit application. An exception
would be when you're denied credit because you're too young to legally sign contracts. Your
age can also be considered if you're about to retire and your income will drop, or if you're
62 or older and the creditor rates this as a positive. Additionally, your age may be taken into
account when it's relevant to such things as the length of your credit history or employment.
Your sex and marital status are a part of your free online instant credit check. But
a creditor may not qualify your income by the sex or marital status of who made it or by
its source. For instance, welfare income is to be treated like any other, as is money from
a part-time job, a pension, alimony or child support. A creditor is also restricted from
assuming that a woman of childbearing age will stop working to raise children.
If you're a woman, you should make sure that the form of your name that appears on
your free online instant credit check, is the one you want. Women may use their maiden
name, their married name or a hyphenated combination of the two last names, "Smith-Jones".
Women also have the right to keep credit accounts in their name after a divorce or they're
widowed, unless the creditor can show that they're unable to pay the bills.
To get your free online instant credit check and free 30 days of credit monitoring, please
go to
free instant credit reports.
