Free Request to Return or Destroy a Credit Report

The lender may require that you provide additional information or documentation before destroying or returning your report. For example, you may need to provide your birth date, social security number, or other personal identifying information. Therefore, you may wish to call the lender to find out if the lender is willing to return or destroy your report, and if so, what documentation may be required. It is preferable NOT to include your social security number in the letter, unless required to do so.

Photocopies, not the original copies, of any relevant documents should be included with the letter (unless an original is required). You should keep a copy of all written communications and maintain a written summary of all oral communications.

Lenders frequently request a copy of your credit report and other personal data to assist in determining whether they should extend credit to you. A lender may be a bank, credit card company, merchant, or other business that extends credit as part of its business. The lender will use the credit report and other personal data in the process of deciding whether or not to extend credit. If you are given credit, the lender may wish to maintain the copy for an extended period of time for its possible value in collecting the loan or credit that has been extended to you. As time passes and the information in the credit report becomes more dated, the lender will have less of a need for the report.

At whatever point the lender has no further use for the report, and it may be difficult to know when this occurs, you should request that the report be sent to you or destroyed so that it does not end up in a trash receptacle or other public area to be picked up by an identity thief. To help you estimate when to request the report, use these guidelines. If credit is denied, request the report immediately at the time of denial. If credit is extended, then wait approximately six months to request the report.

When requesting that the report be destroyed or returned, briefly explain why the report was needed and what it is that you want the lender to do.

1. The letter should be signed, but it is not necessary that the signature be witnessed or notarized.

2. Be sure to attach any documentation, if applicable.

3. Retain a copy of the letter for your records. Keep the original copies of any enclosures, unless you are required to send the originals. If you send an original, keep a copy.

4. After a reasonable amount of time has passed, follow up to make sure that any request action was actually taken.