Do you check your credit report on a regular basis? If you don it, you may be leaving yourself vulnerable to paying higher interest rates as well as to becoming the victim of identity theft. The reality is that you should check your credit report on a regular basis. And, the good news is that you can do it for free every year!
Obtaining Your Credit Report
In the past, you could not obtain a credit report for free unless you were already turned down for a loan or if you met other specific criteria. Or, you had to become a member of a certain organization and you would receive a "free" credit report as a perk of your membership. Today, however, you don it have to join a group or be turned down for a loan in order to get your credit report for free. Instead, the government has made it possible for you to obtain your credit report for free once per year by simply visiting AnnualCreditReport.com or calling 1-877-322-8228.
Checking Your Report
Once you get a copy of your credit report, it is important for you to look it over thoroughly in order to look for mistakes or suspicious activity. If you find any mistakes, even those that seem small and unimportant, you need to take action to get the information corrected. The reality is that even a seemingly small mistake, such as having the wrong date listed for when the account was opened, can have an adverse affect on your credit rating. In addition, a mistake on your credit report may be a sign of identity theft. Therefore, you should report the mistake to the credit reporting bureau as soon as possible.
Reporting a Mistake
Reporting a mistake on your credit report is a relatively simple process. First, you will need to write a letter that details the mistake you have found and why the information is erroneous. You should then make copies of any documents that support your claim and then send the information to the credit reporting bureau. Be sure to request a receipt request so you can confirm when the documents arrived at the credit reporting bureau.
After your letter arrives at the credit reporting bureau, the company has 30 days to address your concern. At the end of these 30 days, the company either needs to correct the error or send you a letter telling you why the information will remain the same. If the error is corrected, the company will send the information to the other two credit reporting bureaus so they can also correct your report. The company will also send a new copy of your report to you so you can see that the error has been corrected.
If the company finds that the report should remain unchanged, on the other hand, you will have the option to write a brief statement to be included on your report. While this will not help change your credit rating, it can be beneficial when a potential lender pulls your credit report, as it will give the lender immediate feedback regarding the negative information contained on your report.
If you will be getting a car loan or applying for a home mortgage anytime soon, it is critical that you know what is in your credit report. After all, the first thing your potential lenders will do after you apply for a loan is to check your credit report to see if you are "credit-worthy." The better your credit history, the lower the interest rate you will be offered. In this article we will provide three, easy ways to get a free copy of your credit report.
First off, you actually have THREE credit reports, each published by one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Your past and current lenders provide information about your credit history to each of these three bureaus. The bureaus package this information into your credit report, and generate a resulting credit score. The good news is that, by law, you are entitled to free copy of each of your credit reports each year.
There are three ways you can get your copy:
#1: Online. The three credit reporting bureaus jointly sponsor a website specifically for the purpose of providing copies of your credit report. Well, actually the real purpose is to sell you additional services. More about that in a minute. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, and click on the Request Report button. You'll have to provide a little personal information, but you'll be rewarded with a copy of your credit report instantly. A note of caution: there are a lot of other websites with similar names that will try to sell you a copy of your report. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only "official site" sponsored by the credit bureaus. Yes, they will try to sell you credit monitoring services, your credit score, and a variety of other "services," but you don't have to buy them in order to get a free copy of your report.
#2: By phone. You can also call the credit reporting bureaus to request a copy of your report. The number is 877-322-8228. They will take you through a verification process over the phone. But don't expect to see your report any time soon. In fact, they say they will "mail the report within 15 days. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery."
#3: By mail. The third way to request a copy of your credit report is by mailing a form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. They ask that you use a specific form available on their website (AnnualCreditReport.com), and once they get your form it will take a month or so before you get your report. Since you have to go to the website to get the form, you might as well request the reports online - it is certainly a lot faster.
Since you can get ONE free copy each year from each of the THREE credit bureaus, if you space out your requests (one request every four months), you can monitor your credit reports over the period of a year, all for free.
Both Reliacredit Reliacredit & Jay Peters 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.
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