North Dakota University System

Credit Bureau

The Student Loan Service Center reports delinquent payments to two major credit bureaus: Equifax and Trans Union.

• Once your loan goes into repayment you will be building either a positive or negative credit history.
• Federal law specifies how long negative information remains on your credit report. This includes late payments, accounts turned over to a collection agency and judgments filed against you in court.
• Once your account is delinquent even if you pay the account in full it will still have an impact on your credit.  
• Statute of limitations for reporting credit activity is seven years.   

Consumer Credit Report
A consumer credit report is a factual record of an individual’s credit payment history. It is provided to help a lender quickly and objectively decide whether to grant you credit. Most of the information in your consumer credit report comes directly from the companies you do business with, but some information comes from public records.

Your Credit Rights
Equal Credit Opportunity Act - This act was created to ensure equal treatment for women when granting credit. 

• Anyone can request a credit card in their own name regardless of marital status.  
• Creditors must consider child support and alimony as income when evaluating your request.
• Creditors may not ask you about birth control or family plans.
• If your credit application is denied the creditor is required to provide justification for their decision.

Fair Credit Reporting Act - Offers legal protection of consumer privacy by:

1. Limiting the purposes for which a consumer report may be used.
2. Giving the consumer the right to receive full disclosure of everything in the file.
3. Limiting the length of time which adverse information may be reported.
4. Informing the consumer when a report has contributed to a denial of credit.
5. Providing the consumer with an opportunity to dispute information.
6. Limiting the access of governmental agencies.
7. Providing civil and criminal liability for violations of the law.

When Your Credit Has Been Denied

1. Obtain a free copy of your credit report to see what negative information is being reported.
2. Request an explanation of the denial of credit from the company that denied you credit.
3. If you spot an error, contact the data furnisher and discuss the error with them. If there is an error, the data furnisher should make the correction. If the data furnisher says it was not a reporting error and you disagree with that decision, you should file a consumer dispute.
4. To file a consumer dispute, contact your local credit bureau. They will send you a form to complete. Based on that information, they will send an official Consumer Dispute Verification form to the data furnisher. The data furnisher must respond within a specified time period or the negative information will be deleted. Your local credit bureau will forward the change in your credit reporting to the other credit bureaus.
5. If the data furnisher is reporting correctly, but you feel there were mitigating circumstances, you may have an explanation put on your credit report. Call your local credit bureau to submit an explanation.

Credit Bureau Contact Information

EQUIFAX	1-800-997-2493	www.equifax.com
TRANS UNION	1-800-888-4213	www.transunion.com