Credit Counseling and Debt Management

Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union has partnered with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (CCCS). CCCS is a non-profit service organization dedicated to delivering professional credit education, confidential credit and housing counseling and debt management programs.

CCCS is one of the area’s leading credit and debt management counseling agencies that has helped thousands of individuals and families gain control of their finances. More details >>

Free Annual Credit Reports

Perhaps you read or heard about a recent amendment to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act. The Act obliges each of the three national credit reporting agencies aka credit bureaus to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every year, at your request. By requesting copies of your credit report annually, you will be able to:

• Manage your debt and qualify for the best rates and terms on loans and mortgages
• Protect yourself against identity theft by keeping abreast of unauthorized changes to your credit record
• Keep informed of your credit standing to understand lending opportunities and correct errors that can cause application rejections or high interest rates, if they exist.

For consumer convenience, the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – have established one central service from which you can order your free credit report copy. There are several ways to access this service:

• Online at www.annualcreditreport.com
• By telephone at 1-877-322-8228 (toll-free), or
• By mail -- complete an Annual Credit Report Request Form (obtainable online or by phone) forwarded to:
  Annual Credit Report Request Service
  P.O. Box 105281
  Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Here are some helpful tips to consider when ordering your free report:

• You are not obligated to accept offers for other credit services when ordering your report
• You should request that only the last four digits of your Social Security Number be listed on your report for security purposes
• You may want to consider spacing out your orders for free reports from the three different agencies as a better method for identifying potential identity theft
• You will not get your credit score in the report