Free Credit Reports

People are advised to check their reports regularly as credit report errors are notoriously common. A study conducted in 2004 by the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups found nearly 80% of credit reports contained some type of error.

These errors ranged from listing the wrong date of birth to not listing current credit accounts to listing some accounts multiple times. These errors can negatively affect your credit score so finding them and correcting them is essential to maintaining your good credit rating.

Free Credit Reports

The three major credit-reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, are each required by law to provide consumers a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months.

Do not go to the three credit bureaus individually

The three major credit-reporting agencies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

Note that the reports are not sent automatically. In order to receive your free report, you must request them in order to receive them.

These are the three ways you can order your free report:

  • AnnualCreditReport.com, is the only authorized source for people to access their free annual credit report online.
  • Or, you may phone (877) 322-8228.
  • The third way to obtain your free annual report is to mail a written request to:

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

If you have already received your free report for this year, you must order new reports from each bureau individually. You will be charged a small fee for each report. Their addresses are:

Experian
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

Equifax
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022

Another option would be to sign up for a monthly credit report service. With these services, you receive your updated credit reports from each bureau every month, plus you get daily monitoring of your credit scores and credit activity on your three accounts. You also receive your current FICO scores from each bureau.

Your FICO scores are a numerical number assigned by the bureaus that reflect your creditworthiness as a grade or score. This is the score lenders use when evaluating whether or not to issue a loan and what interest rate to charge you. The higher the score, the better chance of getting the loan and the lower the interest rate you will pay over the life of the loan.

The cost of a service like this is minimal and is the absolute best way to keep on top of your credit picture. An added benefit is that the chance of your Identity being stolen is practically nonexistent because of the constant monitoring of your credit files. One of the best company’s offering this service is CreditDotCom.You can sign up for your service here.

If you need help, tips, suggestions, or ideas on the best and easiest ways to increase your credit scores, without costing you an arm and a leg, get more credit booster ideas here..