ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York residents can get a free copy of their credit report starting Thursday.
The reports are being made available under a mandate by the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to combat identity theft.
Although the law passed in 2003, credit bureaus were worried they would be inundated with requests, so the government phased in the program nationwide from west to east. People in the far western states have had access to the reports since December.
On Thursday, residents in 14 states, the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories will be able to view the information.
The service is available through each of the three national credit bureaus: Experian, Trans-Union and Equifax. Requests can be made online or by calling 1-877-322-8228.
The New York Public Interest Research Group suggests checking the reports for inaccurate personal information such as age and address, accounts incorrectly listed as open or delinquent, accounts that do not belong to you and bankruptcies or other judgments that don't belong to you.
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On the Net:
http://www.annualcreditreport.com
http://www.equifax.com
http://www.experian.com
http://www.transunion.com
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
