Free Credit Reports

It is recommended that every American consumer review a copy of their credit report at least once per year. In fact, each person is entitled to review a copy of their report from each of the three major credit bureaus which means, you can review your credit report three times each year free of charge. Knowing what information is contained on your credit report can help you in several ways. You can see where good money management helps your credit score while identifying actions that need to be taken to improve your score. In addition, inaccurate information reported on your credit report can be spotted and disputed as well as instances of identity theft and credit card fraud.

How to get your free credit report.

While it is important to know the information contained on your credit report, consumers are warned that there is only one true source for the “free” credit report you are entitled to each year. There are other “offers” for free credit reports but you will more than likely be required to sign up for a subscription of some sort, which means the report is not actually “free”. The following steps will show you how to get the free credit report which you are entitled to:

• Understand you must order the reports from each credit bureau, they will not be sent automatically once per year.

• Visit www.annualcreditreport.com and enter the state in which you live as well as your name, date of birth, social security number and current and past addresses to order your free credit report online, or

• Request the Annual Credit Report Request from the Federal Trade Commission. Complete and return to receive your credit report via mail, or

• By phone- call 1-877-322-8228

It is important to remember when ordering your report that you can get one report from each agency. To maximize the benefits allowed by getting free credit reports, it is recommended you stagger your requests throughout the year, versus getting three reports at the same time.

Once you have received a copy of your credit report, take the time to sit down and review all the information contained there to check for accuracy. Any information that is incorrect should be noted and the appropriate steps taken to dispute or correct the information. This is an important step that should not be overlooked. Inaccurate information might reduce your credit score which uses information from your credit report in its calculations.