How to View (and Dispute) the Payroll Data Equifax Collects About You
You know you have to check your annual credit reports for free. But you can – and should – also request and view the payroll information that credit bureaus collect from you.
Equifax Workforce Solutions is a subsidiary of Equifax that collects employment data, including payroll information, through a service called The Work Number (which, like its parent company, has its own security concerns ). He sells this data to lenders and people like your landlord, as well as potential employers to check your salary and work history. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to a free annual copy of the report.
You can request a report online, call the company (866-604-6570), or fill out a form and mail it (I called). After receiving the report, you can dispute it by phone, mail or the Internet in case of an error. If your employer has not sent the data to The Work Number, you will not have a report (the company acts as an intermediary between your employer and potential creditors).
As Joel Winston writes for Fast Company , you can’t opt out of the company collecting your data, but you can put a warning on your report or block access to it, just like on a credit report. According to Winston, unlike your credit report, there is no need to “freeze” or “unfreeze” your Equifax Workforce Solutions report.
“As with the loan freeze, the employee must remember to remove the lock before undertaking any credit or employment-related transaction, as this could create an obstacle to the loan or benefit the employee is looking for,” – Marisa Salsines, Equifax Workforce Representative Solutions, told Winston.
In another story, written by Winston, Equifax warned consumers about the freeze on their records, stating that “a lender, property manager or pre-hiring reviewer will call the employer and explain why they need to verify the employment or income of an employee or former employee. This person cannot influence who picks up the phone, whether the necessary information is being transmitted, and whether his or her confidentiality will be respected. “
If that’s not enough for you, you can pause your Work Number Report on the website by calling 800-996-7566 or by mailing your request to:
TALX Corporation ATTN: Employment Data Department 19-1011432 Lackland RoadSt. Louis, Missouri 63146
AccuSource and InVerify are two other companies that verify employment information, according to The New York Times . The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also maintains a list of companies reporting consumers and states that you have the right to request and dispute information that companies ask about you.
Why do you need this? You may be applying for a new job or looking for a loan. Or, you may simply want to know what data these opaque agencies are collecting.
As Fast Company points out, this is not the same as a credit freeze or report that you access through Equifax itself. You are eligible to receive one free report each year from each of the three credit bureaus , and you must check each for errors.