Free Credit Report

A Free Credit Report Should Be Just That - FREE

Unlike before, you can now receive a truly free copy of your credit report and it won't cost you a single penny. It used to be that these so called free credit report services would require that you sign up for their credit monitoring service for one "low annual fee" ... now that is not exactly what I would call a free credit report!

Along comes the federal government to the rescue. After all, if this is YOUR credit report, wouldn't you think that you would be entitled to a free look every now and then? Well that's what they thought as well.

In 2003 the Federal government came up with what they called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Under this act the government is saying that a fre credit report is your right. But within limits. Every 12 months you are entitled to a free credit report from the 3 credit report bureaus - those being Equifax, Experian and Transunion.

Government Meddling or a Long Time Coming?

What the government is trying to do is to make sure that folks are able to keep themselves up to date concerning what the 3 credit report bureaus are saying about them. And the government thinks that you should get this info for free once a year (I personally think this is not often enough but you take what you can get).

Once a year at least gives you the opportunity to keep an eye on identity theft of your personal info a well as any errors in reporting that might have an impact on your credit score.

Today there is a real simple way you can go about getting your hands on your very own free credit report and we'll give you the link at the bottom of the page. But first, keep reading so that you will know what to expect when you get to the site.

I'm at the Free Credit Report Site - Now What Do I Do?

Once at the site you have 3 options available to you for requesting your fre credit report. You can request your report online, by phone or by mail. Which method do I prefer? It doesn't matter - but you'll receive your free credit report instantly if you request it online. It'll be sent by mail if you request it by phone.

(I understand that some folks don't like to include their Social Security Number on a website form and would prefer the phone or mail method. I don't think there is a big concern as your SSAN is encrypted once it's sent over the internet).

While at the site you can choose to receive your free credits all at once from each of the 3 credit reporting bureaus or you can have each of the 3 services (I use that term loosely - kind of like the Internal Revenue Service) mail to you at 4 month intervals.

For instance, you can have Transunion mail to you now then Equifax four months from now then Experian eight months after that. Although you may find some discrepancies between the 3 credit reporting bureaus, it is almost like getting a free credit report every 4 months. This way you are more likely to catch that application for a loan that was taken out in your name by that identity thief before it gets out of hand.

Other ways to Get Your Free Credit Report

Keep in mind that there are other ways for you to get a free credit report. These have been around even before the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act that we spoke about above.

For instance if you have been turned down for a loan or your new company requires a credit report as a condition of employment, you can still get a free credit report.

Make sure you put getting a fre credit report high on your list of things to do and make sure that what is on your credit report is indeed a true reflection of your credit history. There is no time like the present to catch and clear up any errors that might be appearing on your reports ... errors that might be adversely affecting your almighty credit score.

More importantly there is no time like the present to catch that identity thief who may be putting you further into debt without you even knowing it!

----------

Stop by www.annualcreditreport.com and request your free credit report. This site was put together by the three credit reporting bureaus in response to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

You can get more info about your rights to a free credit report at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm

Back to the Top of Free Credit Report