Military Credit Monitoring Rule

Military Credit Monitoring Rule: How to Access Your Free Credit Monitoring Service

Protecting and serving our country in the military can be a mentally consuming and physically demanding occupation. The last thing you have time for is constantly checking your credit report to make sure that there is no fraudulent activity. Well, good news, you can have someone do that for you free of charge.

What is it?

Beginning on October 31, 2019, each of the three big credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) are offering free credit monitoring services to servicemembers. This credit monitoring service can alert you to mistakes or problems on your credit report that might be the result of identity theft. For example, this service would notify you if there were a new credit card or loan in your name, which could be a sign of identity theft.

Once signed up, you will receive notifications of changes to your credit file via mobile app, email, or text. The types of changes that are flagged include changes of address, payments that are more than 30 days late, bankruptcy information, foreclosures, liens, and new accounts opened in your name.

How can you access it?

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion each have their own portal for signing up for this free service. To sign up for this free service, visit each consumer reporting agencies websites below and enter your information.

If you have any questions about how to set this up, feel free to give us a call at no cost. We have a legal team dedicated to helping consumers with their credit reports and any issues that may arise regarding it.

Active duty military servicemembers can sign up to have the credit reporting agencies monitor their credit report for them and inform them of any material changes. To be eligible, the servicemember must be an “active duty military consumer,” which means that you are assigned to service away from your usual duty station or be a member of the National Guard. If you are eligible and opt-in (see below), credit reporting agencies are required to notify you of any “material” additions or modifications to your credit files within 48 hours of the change, as well as provide you with free access to that file.

To sign up for this free service, visit each consumer reporting agencies websites below and enter your information:

EQUIFAX

TRANSUNION

EXPERIAN

What to do if there is an inaccuracy in your credit report?

As with anything in life, often times things do not go as planned. If you find an inaccuracy on your credit report, it is important to dispute the incorrect information with the credit reporting agency. This is where we come in.

Free of charge, we will help you write and send a dispute letter to the credit reporting agency demanding that the credit reporting agency fix the inaccurate reporting.

By law, the credit reporting agencies are required to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the validity of the reported information; remove the information if it finds it to be inaccurate; and to notify you of the results of their investigation. All of which must be done within a set window of time.

Unfortunately, credit reporting agencies often do not remove or correct the inaccurate information. We have a legal team dedicated to fight these credit reporting agencies in court on your behalf. Best of all, our team will do this all on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we do not get paid until you get paid.