Lots of Americans would be stunned to know that they are allowed to get a copy of their credit report absolutely free from each of the main credit reporting agencies once per year. Previously, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian would charge up to $9.50 for each copy of your credit report. If you search for credit report in Google, you’ll find there are lots of third party reporting agencies that also offer credit report services on a fee for service basis, and their charges can vary greatly.
Current legislation provides an allowance for each of the three main credit reporting agencies to provide (upon request) copies of your credit report every year, at zero cost to the you the consumer.
In order for you to receive a free copy every year, you will need to complete and submit a new request every 12 months.
You can request a free copy of your credit report on any of the following ways;
1. Online from the AnnualCreditReport.com website. This is the only authorised website on the Internet where you can request a free copy.
2.You can print out a copy of the “Annual Credit Report Request brochure” (available from the Federal Trade Commission) and complete the form on the back. Once completed, forms have to be posted to P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
3. Lastly, you can call 1-877-8228 for additional information on requesting a free copy of your credit report.
It should be noted that using the above options will provide you with a free copy of your credit report (that is all the financial information known to institutions), however it doesn’t give you your credit score (also know as a FICO score). That being said your credit score is entirely dependent on many items contained within your credit report. Your credit report is mostly just a summary of your credit accounts, payment history, outstanding balances, as well as your payment history.
It is imperative that your credit report be 100% accurate. Once you receive your copy, go through it thoroughly and check for any discrepancies. If you find anything that doesn’t look right, ensure you bring it to the attention of the relevant agencies. Remember that financial institutions will base their decision on whether or not to give you a loan or line of credit almost entirely on the details within your credit report. They will not know if it contains invalid information, and will take your report at face value.
Again, if they are using a credit score to make make their decision, this score is again tied directly to the information in your credit report.
It is absolutely worthwhile to request a copy each year and make the habit of reviewing the information by hand. If you feel this may be too difficult for you, there will be a myriad of companies that would be happy to assist you with reviewing and correcting any mistakes for a fee. Again, Google should bring up a ton of results if you search for “fix credit report”. You may also see links on this page for services offering to help fix your credit report and/or improve your credit score.