Your Credit Report - Part One

Why Your Credit Report is So Important

Your credit report is one of the most important documents in your life, but you rarely have any control over what's in it. It's estimated that about 25% of credit reports contain incorrect or inaccurate information. In many cases your identity is being confused with another.

Your credit report contains information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home or apartment.

Among the reasons you want to continually review your credit report are:

• The information it contains affects whether you can get a loan and how much you will have to pay to borrow money.
• To make sure the information is accurate, complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy insurance, try to rent an apartment or apply for a job.
• To help guard against identity theft, when someone uses your personal information like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number to commit fraud. Identity thieves frequently use your information to open a new credit card account in your name, changing your address at the same time.

If you don't check your credit reports, the first time you may learn about any of this is when you're denied credit or sued for non-payment of debt.

Of course, the thieves' actions also affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or even a job.

Free Credit Reports

You now have the ability to get your credit report for free. A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation's consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.

How to Get Your Free Credit Reports

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one central website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

Free Credit Report Website

FTC Free Credit Report Website.

I have been informed that for security purposes, this site can only be accessed by typing the web address "www.annualcreditreport.com" (without the quotes) manually, or from links from the Federal Trade Commission website ( FTC.gov), Equifax (Equifax.com), Experian ( Experian.com) and TransUnion ( TransUnion.com) websites.

I could find no reference to the new law on the Experian site which seems to be more interested in selling you your report than advising you that you are entitled to it for free. It looks like you have to call, since a search I recently did turned up nothing about the free credit report you are entitled to under the law.

Transunion and Equifax have links to get your free report on their home pages. Look for links to the FACTAct.

Apparently many people have experienced difficulties getting a free report online and now most consumer advocates recommend using either the phone or mail methods described below.

Toll Free Call for Free Credit Reports

Call 877-322-8228

Write for Free Credit Reports

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 download the form by clicking here.

Do not contact the three reporting companies individually. They will charge for the report if you do. They are only providing free annual credit reports through the addresses and phone number given above.

You may order your reports from each of the three reporting companies at the same time, or you can order from only one or two at a time.

Since the law allows you to order one free copy from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months, the best practice would be to order one from each of the companies every four months. This way you can spot any problems relatively quickly.

Also order each company's report: since they get their information from different sources, the information in your report from one company may not reflect all, or the same, information in your reports from the other two companies. The information in any of your reports is not necessarily inaccurate; it just may be different or incomplete.

You will need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If you have moved in the last two years, you may have to provide your previous address.

To maintain the security of your file, each company may ask you for some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

Each company may well ask you for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources.

Annual Credit Report.com is the only authorized source for your free annual credit report from the three consumer reporting companies.

Neither Annual Credit Report.com nor the companies will not send you an email or call you asking for your personal information. If you get an email or see a pop-up ad or get a phone call claiming it's from Annual Credit Report.com or any of the three consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message or answers any questions — it's probably a scam.

Forward any emails and report any calls you may get that claims to be from Annual Credit Report.com or any of the consumer reporting companies to the FTC's database of deceptive spam at spam@uce.gov.

Read more about your credit report in Part Two.