Free Instant Credit Reports – Score

Thomas Morva asked:




Three companies offer online credit reports in the United States of America. A credit report is compiled using the previous information of a person or a company. This information may include a persons name, current address, social security number, date of birth and current and previous employers. A credit report also consists of details about credit accounts that were opened in the person’s name.

Online credit reports are classified, necessitate a credit card, are open for a particular number of days, and can be printed from the website. An online credit report can also help a moneylender by providing easy access to a borrowers credit history. There are many advantages of an online credit report for borrowers as well as lenders. Any bank will check a person?s credit report before forwarding any type of loan. This not only helps the bank in deciding the interest rates that are to be fixed but also helps the borrower by providing speedy financial services.

The government is bound by law to give a credit report to those who have been turned down by creditors. This credit report is accessible at any time of the year and can be accessed by lenders or borrowers whenever they wish. Other legal pre-requisites for obtaining a credit report include – having a valid social security number and the age of the person (above 18 years).

The three companies that provide this service are Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. An instant credit report can tremendously increase the speed of the process of credit creation on which all the capitalistic countries depend. Credit creation is a process that involves creating credit so that the economy can benefit from all the idle money or finances. Inactive capital or funds are put to use by lending so that the flow of capital in the economy is not hampered. Instant online credit reports make the process of credit creation very smooth thus benefiting the lender, the borrower, as well as the country’s economy.

Jean

Lyn Collier asked:




You don’t have to sign up for a trial membership of a credit protection service to get free copies of your credit reports. There a few one-stop websites where you can order credit reports from all three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. It’s easy. One site, Annual Credit Report, is even recommended by Consumer advocate Clark Howard as well as the Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

By the way, your “credit report” is not the same thing as your “credit score.” The reports will give your credit activity only – not your FICO score. The FICO score is a number that is generated using info from all three agencies. It is a product of Fair Isaac Credit Org. (FICO) and must be purchased – $15.95

When you get to the site and start clicking around to request your free report, a few things might concern you. The main thing…and it is kind of unavoidable is the request for you to enter your Social Security number. If you have strong reservations about entering your SS number online, you can just skip the rest of the article and look up the 800 number and do the transaction on the phone. But either way, you will to have to provide your social security number.

Back to the online request. At some point during your online request for a free credit report , each bureau will try to sell you their products. Stay focused.

Here is the protocol for Experian for example: (and they are all pretty much alike so I will spare you the details on the other 2)

Step 1 on the Experian site will offer to sell you your Experian credit score for $5.95. Each bureau assigns a score, but their scores do not represent your FICO score.The FICO score is the one that most creditors use. I don’t recommend buying a credit score from anyone other than FICO. it’s the only one that counts. When asked if you want to purchase your “Experian” score, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “No thanks, I just want my free annual credit report.”

You will cruise through the steps pretty quickly. The only time you might have a problem is if you don’t answer the identification verification questions correctly. If you answer incorrectly you will be given a toll-free number to call where your i.d. can be verified manually.

Once you are done on the Experian site, you will be prompted to return to the Annual Credit Report site and continue with the other credit bureaus.

All the sites will walk you through the same process offering to sell you their products along the way. Remember, your goal is to get free credit reports, not buy stuff. Follow the prompts and you will instantly get your three credit reports free of charge.

Sue

Matthew Keegan asked:




Yes, it is true: free credit reports are available for you, the consumer. Thanks to an act of Congress, you can get copies of your credit reports annually. This means that Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union – the Big 3 credit reporting agencies – must furnish one free copy of your credit report to you every year. No, you can’t get your free credit reports sent to you automatically: you must take action. Let’s take a look at how you can get copies of your credit reports sent to you today.

Annual Credit Report – By visiting AnnualCreditReport.com you can sign up through the government approved site that will give to you your free credit reports. Each of the three credit reporting companies is listed therein, so select one and provide your personal information to the company of your choosing. Once your information has been verified, a report will be generated for your review. Take a close look at it: if there are errors you need to follow the company’s procedures for contesting mistakes.

Your Credit Score – Not included with your free credit reports but available for a small fee at the same time is your credit score. This is the score whereby members of the credit industry rate your creditworthiness. The higher your score, the better for you and the lower your borrowing rates will be.

Competing Sites – Some consumers prefer to pay for what otherwise are free credit reports. By signing up with companies who offer this service, you can automatically have your credit reports run and sent to you on a periodic basis. Again, you will pay a fee for something you can get for free. In any case, you will pay for your credit score no matter whose service you use.

As with any report, check your free credit reports for errors. Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax all have procedures listed outlining how you can challenge errors. Make certain that you follow their directions to have wrong information expunged from your report. It could save you money on your next credit card loan, car loan, or home mortgage.

Certainly, there aren’t many things that are absolutely free in this life. Congress has seen fit that free credit reports are offered to American consumers in all 50 states. Run each report at least once annually and check it for mistakes as they commonly occur. Who knows, but those free credit reports could reveal identity theft issues too saving you much grief and aggravation if caught in a timely fashion.

Rodney

Thomas Morva asked:




A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) obligates the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian and Trans Union – to provide a free credit report to any consumer who requests it.

The importance of a credit report cannot be ignored. An accurate report can help you obtain loans for major purchases, or even help you rent an apartment. All this, and more, becomes difficult if you have negative errors in your report.

A negative report can prove to be an obstacle if you are job hunting. This is because most employers will go through your credit history before offering employment. If you are actually employed, then a negative report can reduce your chances for further promotion. And, what if the end of it you realize that these errors were because of no fault of yours and that they could have been sorted out in the first place. You can avoid this situation by ordering a free credit report.

Once you get it, make sure the information provided in it is correct. This means that you must verify that your personal details such as your name, address, date of birth, and also the name of your current employer are correct. When this is done, do a check on your financial status. This is because your report will also contain information of your bank accounts, loans, credit payments. In other words, your credit card is also in a way your financial statement on which your future transactions will depend.

If you find any discrepancies, file a report in writing, with any one of the consumer reporting companies, for action. Apart from providing you with the opportunity to verify your accounts and check your credit score, these reports also provide a listing of the companies who have made enquiries on your reports.

These consumer reporting companies sell this information to bankers, creditors, insurers, employers and other business houses. It is imperative to order a free copy to ensure that there are no inaccuracies or errors in your report.

Oscar

Maria Mines asked:




According to the Federal Trade Commission, each year you are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies Experience, Trans-Union, and Equifax. Budget-wise families order one report every four months or so, keeping tabs on their scores without paying a penalty for too many inquiries.

Directly from the source: The Federal Trade Commission’s own website spells out: ”Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report from government you are entitled to under law annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer ‘free credit reports’, ‘free credit scores’, or ‘free credit monitoring’ are not the part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program.” If, after singing along with the catchy tunes, you listen carefully at the end of the most popular commercials, you hear the disclaimer, ”…with enrollment in Triple Advantage”, a subscription service.

The majority of Americans do not know how to manage money, and they have absolutely no idea how to manage or make the most of their credit. They especially do not understand how they compromise not only their credit but also their employment and educational opportunities when they neglect their credit scores. Most of all, the majority of Americans have inadvertently, selfishly buried themselves under monumental credit card obligations they have absolutely no hope of paying-off in their lifetimes. Bankruptcies and foreclosures have skyrocketed in the last four years, because most Americans simply do not understand one simple rule of domestic finance: do not spend money you do not have. Especially when you cannot absolutely depend on your continuing employment, you should cut back your family’s expenses to the absolute minimum.

Use your free credit report to establish a financial strategy. Using your credit report strategically, you can improve your scores. Ideally, you will want to elevate your score above the magical 720, becoming a preferred borrower and therefore qualifying for incentives, rewards, and substantially lower interest rates on all your credit purchases. If you wish to secure a home mortgage at a decent rate, you should at least have a 720 credit score.

Working with your credit report, place your highest priority on correcting errors. In some cases, the credit reporting agency will reserve the right to investigate cases about which you complain; with patience and persistence, you will almost always prevail in your disputes. Place your second highest priority on closing accounts you have not used and do not plan to use. Do not, however, close all your accounts, because you need to maintain a good credit history with a few accounts to maintain your good score. As a rule of thumb, you should pay-off and close retail credit accounts, because they tend to spark impulse buys instead of supporting essential purchases.

If you can, transfer balances to the credit account with the lowest interest rate, leaving the accounts open but making only tiny purchases with those cards and paying-off the complete balances every month. When you make payments on the one account with the highest outstanding balance, try to pay the minimum plus at least ten percent. In other words, if the minimum payment is $250.00, pay $275.00, so that you bring down the principal as well as paying the interest on the money you have borrowed.

David

Thomas Morva asked:




The fair credit-reporting act makes it mandatory for the three organizations (Equifax, Trans Union and Experian) to submit a credit report at least once a year to anyone who requests for the same. Typing ?annual credit report? in a search engine, which provides credit reports online and at free of cost, can give access to the appropriate online site.

A free government credit report is also available by phone or by mail and reaches the concerned person within fifteen days of requesting. The government agency that provides free credit reports is located in Atlanta (Georgia) and can be contacted via mail or telephone.

The prerequisites that are required for obtaining a free credit report are ? the person?s name, address, social security number, and date of birth. There are some other ?imposter? credit reporting companies that try to mimic the actual agency?s website by deliberately misspelling it. This is a common tactic used by companies who try to extract money from unsuspecting credit report mongers.

Under the federal law, a person is permitted to obtain a free credit report if a company takes unfavorable action against him, such as rejecting his application for credit, insurance, or employment then the person can demand a free credit report within sixty days of receiving the notice. The notice will give the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting company. A person is also entitled to one free report a year if he is unemployed and plans to search for a job within 60 days if he is on welfare or if his report is inaccurate as a result of swindling, including identity theft.

A credit report can make or break a company or a person because all the financial data and history of the report holder is clearly mentioned in this report. The most important fact to be noted about a credit report is that any negative comment or remark on the report will literally leave an indelible mark on the person?s financial record. This is because a bad credit remark is not removed from a credit report for at least ten years.

Jesse