Get Your Free Annual Credit Report in Three Easy Steps
Indeed, you can now get your credit report for free. It's also really free now, unlike before. With the cheap yearly cost of $79, you can now avoid having to sign up for a "free" credit report by subscribing to a "credit monitoring protection service"! The days of avoiding the irksome fees and penalties to get a free credit report are gone.
Indeed, you can now get your credit report for free. It's also really free now, unlike before. With the cheap yearly cost of $79, you can now avoid having to sign up for a "free" credit report by subscribing to a "credit monitoring protection service"! The days of avoiding the irksome fees and penalties to get a free credit report are gone.
You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit report bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—within a 12-month period under the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.
This new government statute seeks to guarantee Americans' unrestricted access to information about their credit record from these three credit reporting agencies. Given the prevalence of identity theft, fraud, and inaccuracies in today's world, is it really necessary to pay for a copy of a report in order to combat these issues?
You may get your free yearly credit report in one of three ways:
To get your yearly credit report, visit the website established by the three credit reporting organizations.
1) Access the Annual Credit Report website.
Give (877) 322-8228 a call to get a free credit report.
3. Fill out a Federal Trade Commission form (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/include/requestformfinal.pdf) and send it to the following address: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may have to pay for or join up for the subscription services I described above if you visit the three agencies directly or use any other kind of service! Make sure you get your free yearly credit report by using one of the three options I've provided.
You have the option of receiving the information from all three agencies simultaneously or sporadically over the course of a year. One benefit of receiving reports in stages is being able to monitor how significant changes in your financial situation impact the information on your credit report. For instance, it may be a good idea to get a report before and after any significant events, such applying for school loans or having a second mortgage in the next year!
The existing ways to get a free credit report are still available and are not replaced by this new Act. You still have the right to a free credit report even if you are looking for unemployment benefits, have had a loan refused, or need a credit report to apply for a job.
Utilize this new law to your advantage and confirm that the data provided by all three credit reporting organizations is accurate. When you apply for any kind of credit, any mistakes or omissions may lower your credit score and end up costing you a lot of money.
