Free Credit Reports

If you were to tell someone that they can have a certain item for free, more than likely their response would be, “what’s the catch?” In the case of credit reports there is no catch, you can now get a free copy of this report through the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnions, and Experian. Let’s take a look at the law and how you can benefit from it.

An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the three national credit reporting agencies to provide one free copy of your credit report to you annually. Beginning on December 1, 2004 and culminating on September 1, 2005, the Federal Trade Commission is requiring that these agencies offer reports on a rolling, phase in basis. In other words, on December 1, 2004, if you live in certain western states you became eligible at that time and every three months later additional states were added. By September 1, 2005, residents of all states are eligible.

Fortunately for consumers, you need not contact the three reporting agencies separately to obtain your free credit report. You can order right online at www.annualcreditreport.com; or by calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

The form is available online where you can print it out and mail it in: www.ftc.gov/credit.

If you need copies more often, you can contact the three reporting agencies and request copies. You will pay for this service.

To buy a copy of your report, contact:

Equifax
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com

Trans Union
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com

There are also private companies who will obtain all three copies of your credit report for you as well. There is a fee involved, but you may find their services to be less of a hassle than contacting the three companies separately.

So, how can you benefit from the law? By ordering copies of your reports from the companies on a four month rotating basis. Most consumers will find this plan to be sufficient and it will allow for you to compare/contrast the reports of each agency. Of course, if you already suspect fraud you will want to order all three reports at once and notify each agency to place a “fraud alert” in your credit file.

All in all, the new law is a big win for consumers. Take advantage of this “windfall” as soon as you become eligible to do so.

Credit Cards are a necessity among modern people. Almost everyone above 21 has a credit card even someone who has a bad credit. However one must remember that credit cards eligibility are related to your credit report. When you abuse your credit card, your also negatively impact your credit standings. This can have substantial impact on your future applications for other credit cards or loans.

Banks and Credit Companies reward trustworthy credit card customers. Customers who make payments on time are important to banks as we provide stability to their system and increase their capability to loan out greater amount of money. Low Interest credit cards are often only available to customers who have a good track record i.e. a positive credit report.

Not Paying Your Credit Card Bills On Time Can Ruin Your Credit Ratings

Banks and lenders will use your credit reports to verify all your credit card applicants. Most banks and lenders have a portfolio of credit cards that they can offer you. Naturally they will only offer their best products to their best customers, and these customers are those that have positive credit reports. Your credit report is hence an critical factor for your credit and it can determine the interests rate or APR that the banks or lenders can offer you. Paying your bills on time is now of the key factors that determines your ratings.

The majority of us are responsible borrowers and would not want to damage their credit report. Paying your bills on time and maintaining positive reports will show the banks and lenders that you are a credible person. If you have too many credit cards, this can also damage your credit reports, even if you pay your bills on time.

Multiple Credit Cards Can Also Impact Your Credit Ratings

When you rely on too many credit cards, lenders may see you as a likely candidate for overspending. Banks and lenders will fear that you will hit the spending limit on all your cards and be unable to pay them. Although this is not from an unlikely scenario, you will be tempted to spend beyond your means with the availability of fast credit. Try to maintain only a few essential credit cards.

Something else you will also need to keep in mind is the fact that it can be really easy to miss a payment on your credit cards. Although this doesn’t sound bad, it can have a very negative look on your credit report. If you start missing payments or paying them late, the lender will eventually enter it in your credit report. This can have a negative impact, lowering your beacon score and eventually bringing down your overall credit rating.

If you only get one or two credit cards and keep a track of how you use them, you will not have to worry. Your credit report should always be a primary concern in your financial health, and you should always do your utmost to ensure that it stays positive. If you keep up things up to date - you’ll enjoy the benefit of a positive credit rating and a lower interest rates on that credit card.

Jared writes for a finance blog at Low Interest Credit Cards

As an American you have a right to access the information on your credit report, which is why in 2003 the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was put in place - it states that every person can access a free copy of their credit report. Your free credit report is a consumer document that is accessible from one of these three sources - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Free credit score reports aren’t sent out automatically to every person in the country - you have to take the initiative to have your free credit score sent to your home address. There are three ways to ask for your free credit report - the first one involves going online and finding information from the government about the websites that are authorized to show you your free credit score through the Internet. This is the easiest way to access your free credit score because you don’t have to mail anything out or wait for the results. The three companies that keep your free credit report - TransUnion, Equifax, and Experion - should offer some type of online access.

Otherwise, there is a phone number you can call if you’re not Internet savvy and would rather speak to someone directly about your credit report - you should be able to find a number for each reporting agency. TransUnion is easy to find information on, as is Equifax and Experion.

Another way to request your credit report is to complete a form that you can find on the back of the “Annual Credit Report Request” brochure that you get mailed from the FTC each year. Once you’ve filled out the form simply mail it back to the FTC, to the service they have for requesting your annual credit report from all three credit reporting agencies - TransUnion, Equifax, and Experion.

You also have the choice to either order all three credit reports at one time, or select the times of year you want information from each credit bureau. Ordering from the FTC centralizes the process, so you don’t have to pay a fee to receive your credit report from each credit bureau. When you contact the agencies directly, you will be charged a fee to receive the report, even though you are entitled to receiving your information free of cost. Sometimes the agencies have criteria to receive a free report, but it’s just easier and more straightforward to go through the FTC.

Also, watch out for fraudulent websites that offer to send you your credit report for a fee. You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get something that is offered to you for free, and which you have a right to access - after all, your credit report does contain your personal information.

There are other ways to get a free credit report as well - you are allowed a free report if you have been denied a loan, insurance policy, or job because of your credit - this allows you to see why you may have been denied. You can also get a report for free if you’re applying for unemployment or receive public assistance, or you live in a state that offers free credit reports as a matter of course.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act 2003 requires that the three top credit bureaus; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion provide free annual credit reports to anyone that orders one. The three bureaus have created and jointly hosted a website where consumers can order their instant credit reports for free. They also provide a toll free telephone number and a mailing address which can be used by consumers to apply for their reports. The Act also mandates that consumers should be able to get their credit scores for a small fee, along with explanations about the factors involved in the score computation.

Credit reports are important for two reasons - first, so you can spot any errors in your credit history and financial transactions and have them corrected immediately. An error could cause you to get labeled as a credit risk and classify you with bad credit which in turn means lower loan amounts and higher interest rates when you attempt to take out a loan in the future. The second reason for ordering your credit information is to make sure that any apparent identity theft can be identified and corrected.

Getting your credit score can also prove beneficial before you apply for a loan - any lender looks at your score before nailing down the interest rates on your loan. With a good score, you will be in a position to negotiate a better deal for yourself.

You are eligible to get three free credit reports, one from each bureau, every year. By going online to www.annualcreditreport.com, you can get your free report. You can choose to order all three together or choose to order one at a time over a period of one year. If you would like to keep track of your credit transactions through a whole year, ordering the three reports at different times would make sense. Although you can order by telephone or mail you should expect a wait time of a few weeks before your report arrives.

However, when you go online to order you not only get instant credit report, you can actually do so from the comfort of your home. Another point in favor of getting your report online from home is that you will have all your credit documentation close at hand to reference as required or needed. How will you get your credit report copy from the website? Once you log into the site mentioned above, you will be asked to enter some information like your name, address, date of birth and social security number. Then you can choose the bureau or bureaus whose reports you want to receive information from. After you make this choice, each bureau will set its own set of questions for you to answer in order to confirm your identity. This could be any unique information that is supposed to be known only to you, like the balance amount on a particular credit card account you hold.

Once your identity is verified, your instant credit report will be available at your finger tips! You will have the option to print this report or to save it as a file on your computer. After this, you can choose to go for additional services like getting your credit score etc. (note, these normally require a small charge or fee).