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[G193]Get Three Credit Reports

by Michael Geoffrey, Mic

Some people find themselves with a messy financial situation and therefore credit reports are not a pleasant topic. However, credit reports provide you with the facts. And even if the information is undesirable it can be like a helpful guide on your road to financial recovery. Being well informed is important and necessary information can be found in your credit report.

Those reports are maintained - at least in the U.S. - chiefly by the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax (PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374; www.equifax.com), Experian (PO Box 2002, Allen TX 75013, www.experian.com) and TransUnion (PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022; www.transunion.com).

The reports contain a multi-year history of your credit cards, home loans and other debt. They also record any late payments that occurred and how late they were, 30-day past due, 60-day past due, etc. The reports will list any current and old address, and often your phone number and social security number.

Your credit report can be requested by almost all lending institutions, banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies. Other entities and individuals can request your report in connection with legal proceedings. The credit agencies are committed to giving an accurate report. However, despite their best efforts errors do occur.

Errors are sometimes made in recording payments made to bring a past due balance current. At times your credit report will list loans as active or credit cards as open that you have closed out or paid off some time ago. There are many different computer systems operating out there that may not always transmit information one to another accurately or in a timely manner. That leads to reporting errors.

The only thing an individual can do about this - out of self-protection, if nothing else - is to get copies from all three agencies and review them thoroughly. Make a note of any errors, establish proof of the error, then send a registered letter with the proof to the agency asking them to correct the data.

Everyone can receive one free copy of their credit report each year. You can request your credit report on line or by phone. If requesting your credit report via the internet you can visit annualcreditreport.com

Knowing your current credit status can help you game plan for your financial future. A knowledge of your credit history can be instrumental in helping you set goals to eliminate your debt and avoid unnecessary debt in the future.

When you receive your credit report review it carefully for any past due balances. Resolve these quickly paying off the smaller balances first and then move along to the larger balances until all past due balances have been cleared. In time you will be on your way to a cleaner credit report.

The credit system could perfectly appear complicated especially to those who are just starting to build their own credit. Because of this, understanding the whole system in general or even bits and pieces of it could prove to be too bothersome. With this notion, many people even if they haven't even really tried exerting effort refuse to learn about credit, credit report, credit scores, etc.

Since there are certified and reliable agencies that create the credit report for consumers, it's very common for people to completely put their trust on these agencies when it comes to the validity and accuracy of their reports. This of course, is understandable. The three credit reporting agencies wouldn't be recognized by the government if they didn't provide good services, would they?

Still, it is important for consumers to realize that the occurrence of mistakes and inaccuracies on their annual credit reports is very possible. This could be attributed to the fact that sometimes, the information the agencies receive isn't accurate to begin with. Therefore, consumers are always advised to check their credit reports annually.

If you don't have the patience or the time to read about the different things about the credit system, you should at least understand what a credit report it, how it is produced, why it is important to you and what it determines. As mentioned, there are three credit reporting agencies which get personal information from you and from other suppliers, like banks and previous creditors.

Every year, each of these bureaus gives consumers their credit reports for free. Since it's already free, it is a good opportunity for you to actually track, analyze and check your credit status. What part of your report needs verifications, what items seemingly are inaccurate and what needs to be improved. Since you supply these agencies with private information, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sees to it that any information you give is secure and remains private.

When you review you credit reports every twelve months, you can determine which loans you can apply for and how much money you need to pay creditors to borrow money. And since you can track down your own credit activity through regular subscriptions of the credit report, you would very well determine if there are errors. This can be of great help because you can file for a dispute and the report right before you apply for a loan, get insurance, purchase a house or a car, or even apply for a job. All of these are affected by the information on your credit report.

Finally, perhaps one of the best benefits you can get from regularly checking your credit report is the fact that you can prevent identity theft from happening to you. Getting your identity be stolen is the worst nightmare any credit holder would ever have. Imagine another people purchasing things under your name without thinking if you have the ability to pay for them or not. This means that your credit report will have to suffer from the effects of delinquency notices you don't know anything about.

If you check your credit report regularly and review its contents you would know what's wrong with it. And in case you are a victim, you can stop it as soon as possible.

Article Source : Pg. 28

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Both Michael Geoffrey & Tony Francis are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Geoffrey has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Debt Reduction Consolidation and Collection Agencies. You can learn more methods to on the Pay Off Credit Card Debt website. Check out. Michael Geoffrey's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.

Tony Francis has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Free Credit Report Score and Finances. Free-Credit-Report.com provides for the information you need to from the different bureaus. Besides the website also answers why you should. Tony Francis's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.