Attention Wells Fargo Customers: Here Is How to Check Your Credit Report for Free

Posted on October 3, 2016 at 12:00pm by
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Wells Fargo has upset the nation, and especially Senator Elizabeth Warren, for using high-pressure sales tactics that tempted workers to create bank accounts for customers without their permission. Roughly two million accounts were opened, meaning customers were unaware of maintenance and overdraft fees accumulating. Wells Fargo customers who believe they may have been affected should check their credit reports for signs of identity theft.

How to Obtain Your Annual Credit Report

It is a good idea to pull your credit report at least once a year. Fortunately, this can be done for free. To do this, visit www.annualcreditreport.com and fill out the necessary forms.

The first form is going to ask you for basic information, such as your name, Social Security number, birthday, and current and previous addresses. Be prepared to gather some of your records if you do not know this information off of the top of your head.

The next step will require you to select the credit reports you want. There are three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. This part is important, because sometimes negative accounts are listed for one agency but not the other. In this case, you will want to select all three.

After making your selection, you are going to have to answer a bunch of personal questions for each credit agency. It will ask questions such as “what model year is your car?” or “in 1993, what county did you live in?”. It is important to get these answers correct, otherwise you will have to go about this process over the phone.

What Is Listed On Your Credit Report?

Your credit report will list hard credit inquiries. Many of the accounts Wells Fargo opened for customers required hard inquiries into their credit histories. It will also show credit accounts opened in your name, including account balances and payment histories.

Credit reports will also show collection accounts. If Wells Fargo opened an account, and it collected fees and was then closed for a negative balance, this would be listed on your credit report.

If Wells Fargo did open an account in your name, requesting your credit report is only the first step to repairing the damage. Future blog updates will cover how you can contest fraudulent accounts listed on your credit report.

The Kansas City bankruptcy attorneys at The Sader Law Firm can help people struggling with debt find ways to manage their finances.



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