Free Instant Credit Reports – Score

Ariel Pryor asked:




You are entitled free credit reports annually. Your free credit reports are available to you by law, let’s look at how to get them the easy way. There is no catch, no sign up offer, no upsell you must purchase, you have a right as a citizen to know what your credit report is, and the reporting bureaus are obligated to provide you your report for free, annually.

Why You Should Know Your Credit Score

Your credit score is used in nearly every facet of your life these days, often without your even being aware that it was a factor. Everyone for example has rented an apartment or a home at one time or another, and it is often the case that as a prospective tenant, a landlord will pull your credit to determine your worthiness. Consumer stores use your credit in order to determine your risk, insurance companies adjust their rates based on your credit score, and of course, it is used as a determining factor for the approval of loans and credit cards.

Your credit report rating is an assessment of your financial health, and lenders, banks, companies and other institutions use them to assess your trustworthiness at a glance. A clean credit report, therefore has a variety of advantages. Most credit reports are riddled with errors or inaccuracies and it is your duty as a good consumer to address these and make sure you are being summed up in an accurate fashion.

Beware Online ‘Free’ Credit Report Offers

Obtaining your credit report isn’t very difficult. One word of caution, beware of online services or companies that attempt to attract you with a free offer to obtain your credit score for you. These are the offers that are too good to be true, and the lure of a free report is used to up sell you or introduce you to other offers that you don’t necessarily need or want.

Getting Your Reports Is Easy

Your scores are kept by the three major reporting bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The easiest way to obtain your free reports, mandated by law, is to use:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Which is a free site setup by the three bureaus so that you have a centralized location to get all three easily and without hassle. It’s won’t take you more than a few minutes and you can get your scores from each of the bureaus fast. Expect a slight variance between the three reports, they typically do not match, and be sure to clean up any inaccuracies that you find that could be falsely distorting your credit score. The process of disputing and cleaning up your credit score isn’t too difficult either, if you don’t mind doing it yourself.

Lewis

Zach Ford asked:




Your FICO score, calculated by information in your credit report, is one of the most valuable tools in your financial arsenal. FICO (named after Fair Issac Corp, the company that pioneered credit scoring) mathematically calculates your late or timely payments and other factors in your credit history into a number that indicates how good a credit risk you would be.

Hundreds of bits of financial information are used in calculating your score and it’s important to be certain that some of those factors aren’t errors or even credit fraud. Therefore, you should check your credit report and FICO score at least once a year and even more frequently if you relocate, change jobs or open new accounts. Quickly correcting any errors that may be in your report is vital to your financial health.

Another, very important, reason to check your credit report is your present and future employers. Checking a job applicant’s report has become standard practice in trying to determine if they’d be a good fit with the company. You can see how an error or fraudulent entry in your credit report can make a significant impact on your life!

You can obtain a copy of your credit report and FICO score by either going online or using the postal service. Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the three agencies, offer free copies of your report and FICO score once per year. You will find forms online that you can use to request these reports. Take care, however, that you don’t inadvertently get taken in by the many look-alike websites that often imitate these legitimate reporting agencies. The imitators will offer the free reports but in authorizing it, you’re actually signing up for a monthly credit reporting service that will charge you a fee. Unless you want this type of service, be very careful to read all the agreements and fine print, even on the three legitimate websites.

Checking your credit report and FICO score at least once per year will help insure that you stay financially healthy and maintain your good credit reputation.

Tina