Your credit report is an important part of your financial life that can determine whether you can get credit, how good or bad the terms are, and how much it costs you to borrow.
You can have access to all three of your credit reports once a year. The three different credit reports are similar but not identical. You do have to be careful because there are many websites that state they offer you a free credit report but may charge you for other services. Checking your credit report yearly is recommended to keep your information accurate.
Your Accesss to Free Credit Reports
What Is a Credit Report?
A credit report is a summary of your personal credit history. Your credit report includes your identifying information — like your address and date of birth — and information about your credit history — like how you pay your bills or if you filed for bankruptcy. Getting your credit report can help protect your credit history from mistakes, errors, or signs of identity theft.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to a free credit report from each of the three nationwide reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — every twelve months. Be careful! The Federal Trade Commission has received complaints from consumers who were tricked into believing they were ordering their free annual credit report, but instead paid hidden fees or agreed to unwanted services. Go to the authorized source AnnualCreditReport.com when you request your free report. You can also order your report toll-free at 1-877-322-8228, or via mail. For more information, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/freereports.
Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free credit report if
• you get a notice saying that your application for credit, employment, insurance, or other benefit has been denied or another unfavorable action has been taken against you, based on information in your credit report. That’s known as an adverse action notice. You must ask for your report within 60 days of getting the notice. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the credit bureau, and you can request your free report from them
• you’re out of work and plan to look for a job within 60 days
• you’re on public assistance, like welfare
• your report is inaccurate because of identity theft or another fraud
• you have a fraud alert in your credit file
If you fall into one of these categories, contact a credit bureau
Credit Reporting Agencies
-
There are three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
These agencies receive information from a variety of creditors, usually monthly, about whether you are making loan and credit card payments on time. The agencies also collect information about bankruptcy filings, court-ordered judgments, tax liens, and other public record information from courthouse records.
Information Contained in a Credit Report
The reports from each of the credit agencies look different, but generally contain the same basic information.
1. Your identifying information, including:
o Name
o Social Security Number (SSN)
o Current and previous addresses
o Telephone number
o Birth date
o Current and previous employers
o Spouse’s name, if married
2. A report containing your credit history
3. A list of inquiries
4. A report containing information about you in public records (e.g., collection accounts, bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, civil judgments, delinquent student loan payments, and late child support payments)
Credit Score
Your credit score is based on the information in your credit report.
• Your credit score—sometimes referred to as a credit rating or Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) Score—is a number that helps lenders determine how much of a credit risk you may be.
• It has become increasingly common for lenders to make decisions largely based on credit scores.
It is important to learn how the score is calculated so you can improve your score if necessary to obtain credit.
• Your payment history is the largest percentage of your credit score. That is why it is important to pay your bills on time.
If you do not have a history of late payments, your score may be lowered if your credit card balance is close to the limit or if you have just begun to use credit.
Creditors may use one or more credit scores. They may generate the scores themselves, or they may use a score calculated by another firm. Two of the scores used by creditors and lenders are FICO Score and VantageScore.
How to Get Your Free Annual Credit Report
To order your free annual report from one or all three of the credit reporting agencies, do one of the following:
• Submit a request online at www.annualcreditreport.com
• Call toll-free: 1-877-322-8228
• Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P. O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
You can print a copy of the Annual Credit Report Request Form from www.annualcreditreport.com or www.ftc.gov/credit. You will need to provide:
• Your name, address, SSN, and date of birth
• Your previous address if you have moved in the last 2 years
• Identifying information specific to you for security purposes (e.g., amount of your monthly mortgage payment)
• Different information for each requesting company, because the information each has in your file may come from different sources