Over the past couple of months, Clark has gotten very angry about calls from listeners who have been unable to get credit reports from the nation’s credit bureaus. Consumers call to get the report and then it never shows. When they call to get information on why it never showed, the bureaus say people must have received a credit report to talk to someone about it. But the person never got the report! Clark called the various bureaus and even the trade organization that speaks for them. TransUnion was the only company that responded, saying that Fair Debt Reporting Act does not require that the bureaus speak to Americans. Everyone else simply refused to talk. So, Clark and his crew went to Congress to discuss the issue and the meaning of the Fair Debt Reporting Act. Clark was asked by the Senate’s Banking & Finance Committee to hold off on taking on the credit bureaus because there is a new procedure going into effect in December. It will allow people to get a free credit report once a year with just one phone call. Residents in the Western states will be able to make the request Dec. 1, and other parts of the country will be phased in by Dec. 1 of 2005. Midwestern states will be able to make requests starting March 1; Southern states can order starting June 1; and the East and Northeast – Sept. 1. We have to remember that we’re dealing with an industry that does not care about consumers, so we’ll see if it really happens the way Congress says it will. Five states already give you free reports, but you have to call each bureau to get one. They are Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont and New Jersey. In Georgia, people can get two reports a year. Under the new law, one phone call will get you reports from all three. If that part of the problem gets fixed, great. But another problem is that getting information corrected on credit reports is next to impossible. So, for now, Clark is taking a break from talking about the problems with the credit bureaus. But as soon as it passes and is time, he will revisit this. For more information, type www.annualcreditreport.com into your browser window.