Free Instant Credit Reports – Score

Tim Gorman asked:




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 http://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).

Christina

Marilyn Katz asked:




It seems like every time I turn on the TV, I see a baby faced rocker singing about how he had some really bad luck because he had not visited a certain credit reporting website. The tune is quite catchy. And while we may all be able to sympathize with the quirky situations, we may also want to “get our knowledge on” before signing up for this service.

Are free credit services they really free?

If a major company is spending a lot of money to promote this website, how can it be free? Well, actually you do need to give them a credit card number along with your other registration information. As a convenience to members, you also get enrolled in a service that monitors your credit. But hold on. This additional service is not free. If a member does not cancel within a short period of time, they will see monthly credit card charges for an online credit monitor.

Did you sign up for that?

The company does say they publish this information. But if we can judge by 11,000 Better Business Bureau complaints, the notice may not have been plain enough. Now, after so many complaints, the company says they are changing the way they are publishing this information.

Those of us who have been online for awhile know that most free offers come with some sort of catch. In this case, the service really was free. It was also just really easy to miss the fact that the service came with automatic enrollment in another service with a monthly charge!

US Federal Law Gives You Free Credit Reports

You can get a free credit report with no catches though. Look at this website:

www.annualcreditreport.com

It is run by the three major credit reporting services: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

This website is run by the three major agencies in order to be compliant with federal law. This law is the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT).

Consumers are urged to review their credit reports periodically. Many consumers find simple errors, that are easy to correct. These errors can cost a lot of money in the long run.

Why Check Your Own Credit?

Many consumers do not even know they can get a free report. Even if they do know, a lot of people never bother to do it. They do not understand why it is that important.

You know that people with better credit scores pay less and get better terms when they do borrow money. This can also impact other areas of your life. Some employers ask for credit reports when they screen job applicants. Even insurance companies are starting to look at them too. Some insurance companies will not offer their best rates for people with recent credit issues.

Many people find simple errors when they check their credit. I, myself, have found duplicate entries. This made it look like I had borrowed a lot more money than I had. It was very simple to dispute the errors and get them resolved. You can find instructions on the website.

Since this information is so important, and since it can affect your life, there is no reason to be running blind.

Edwin

L. Sampson asked:




Knowing what is on your credit report can help to keep your personal information safe, give you a chance to correct inaccuracies, and save you money on interest rates when you apply for a home loan. With the wide availability of free or low cost credit reports online, there is no reason to spend a lot of money to find out how credit worthy you really are.

Obtain a free credit report when you sign up for special services

If you are interested in signing up for credit monitoring or similar credit check services, take advantage of a company that offers a free credit report when you sign up for their program. If you are interested in a credit monitoring or counseling program, look for one that offers a free credit report instead of paying for this information.

Go straight to the source

According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, everyone is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, once every 12 months. You can individually request a copy from each bureau or you can look for online companies that offer a free centralized request form that lets you fill out one form and receive your credit report from all three agencies.

Save money later by not being too thrifty now

While free online credit sites abound on the internet, it isn’t always as free as it sounds. Always thoroughly research any company you are about to request a free credit report from. Some are nothing more than fronts for identity theft scams. Ironically a consumer thinks they are getting a credit report to safeguard their credit, when in truth they are giving away valuable information to identity thieves. While it might seem wonderful to get a credit report for nothing, it won’t seem so wonderful if you have to go through the headache of cleaning up your credit report or if you aren’t able to secure a loan because of fraudulent information on your report.

Sally

Bart Newman asked:




Getting your credit report does not only provide you a chance to correct inaccuracies, it also helps you save money on interest rates when you apply for another loan. Nowadays, there is a world of options for you to have your credit report at a cheap rate, if not for free. You can get this information from credit agencies and through the Internet as well without having to spend a lot of money to find out your credit standing. Many reliable agencies or companies offer a cheap credit report online to help you out.

There are many firms that can help you get cheap report or for free. Availing their service, you won’t have to shell out a lot of money just to find out whether you can get more credit services.

There’s also a legislated provision from the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act that allows you to avail of your credit report for free-once yearly from any of these credit agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You can also choose to file for all three at once, through a centralized request, which lets you see how all three credit agencies view your credit performance.

Apart from these three agencies, be wise enough to know the meaning of the old mantra “there’s no such thing as free lunch,” especially regarding online sites from which you intend to ask for free credit reports from. Some of these companies aren’t exactly trustworthy, which is why you need to keep a watchful eye. Make sure you know about the company, as much as the company knows about you even, so that you won’t have to shell out more cash from what you initially thought to be a trustworthy source of a cheap report. Moreover, make sure you don’t end up explaining questionable items from your report.

Keeping up with your report helps keep your credit scores excellent. You will surely need this when you apply for another loan to keep the interest rates will remain low. This way, you won’t have to wait until your credit report gets back to acceptably excellent from a mismanaged one. In case there are issues that keep you from getting your credit score, there is a form you can fill out from the websites of the three credit bureaus to help you resolve the issue.

With the wide availability of cheap credit reports online, there is definitely no reason for you to spend a lot of money to get your credit scores.

Ricky