You have the right to review your personal credit report free each year. Regrettably, some consumers never review the contents of their credit history. Failing to monitor credit activity can result in surprise rejections when applying for loans and credit cards.
What is a Credit Report
Credit reports contain a complete listing of all your credit accounts -- past and present. Creditors and lenders pull individual reports before issuing loan approvals and use this information to determine a person's credit pattern. While lenders and creditors use credit reports to assess creditworthy, each consumer has the right to check his own report to learn his standing. Knowing what lenders and creditors are reporting can help you get financing with few hassles.
Annual Credit Report
Watch commercials or search online for free reports. Several companies claim to offer no-strings, free credit reports. However, these ads are misleading because acquiring access to your free reports typically involve enrolling in a credit service -- credit repair, credit monitoring or credit counseling. According to the Federal Reserve Board, Annual Credit Report is the only place to receive free reports from each of the three reporting bureaus. Everyone's entitled to free reports on an annual basis.
Acquiring Reports
Three ways are available to acquire your free report from Annual Credit Report. A quick and convenient way involves visiting the agency's official website and completing the credit report request form (annualcreditreport.com). Another option is to write for free reports each year: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. A third option is to contact Annual Credit Report by telephone and submit a request at 877-322-8228.
Other Methods
Being able to receive one free report from each of the bureaus a year doesn't mean you can only check your report once a year. Every consumer can visit the official websites for Experian, TransUnion and Equifax and purchase a personal credit report anytime. Checking reports more than once a year is an effective way to monitor for identity theft and resolve reporting errors quickly. And if denied for credit, every consumer has the right to check his report for free within 30 days to see why a creditor or lender rejected the application.
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