With an online free credit report you're able to look at the same factors that creditors do
when granting you credit. But because of the passage of anti-discrimination laws, one thing
that won't be factor is your gender. Women must be judged for credit like men, using the types
of information found in a online free credit report.
Before the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1975, women were regularly
discriminated against when seeking credit. Now however, a woman may not be denied credit
because of her gender or marital status. Women who are married, divorced or separated can
establish their own credit. And their online free credit report can be completely separate from
their husband's. If a married woman has sufficient credit, a creditor may not ask for her
husband to cosign the account unless certain property rights are involved.
A woman doesn't have to have Miss, Mrs., or Ms. with her name in her online free credit
report. And if married, she can choose to use her first name and maiden name; her first name
and her husband's last name; or her first name and the hyphenated combination of her and her
husband's last names.
When you're applying for credit, creditors aren't allowed to ask about plans for having
children. Creditors can ask if there's a home telephone but can't discriminate against you if
the phone isn't in your name.
Creditors must count all of a woman's income indicated in her online free credit report,
whether it's part-time work or alimony payments. Creditors also can't ask for income information
about a husband or ex-husband, unless some of the woman's income comes from alimony or child
support. The creditor is allowed to make a judgment as to the reliability of the various incomes.
Just as credit can't be denied because you retire, single women can't have accounts closed
because they marry and married women can't have accounts closed because they divorce or are
widowed. Although as with any credit situation, if there's a drastic change in income the terms
of the account may be altered.
To get your online free credit report and free 30 days of credit monitoring, please go to
free instant credit reports.
