Free Credit Report

Taking Care of Business

Actively guard your credit. Before you consider buying a home or car, refinancing or remodeling, or other major credit purchases, get a copy of your credit report and score, or go to one of the free credit report web sites.

Identity theft is also becoming more and more of a problem. I’ve personally seen how damaging it can be, both with a sibling and clients, who had their identities stolen and had credit cards opened in their names. Cost my client about six months of waiting time and during that time, rates went up, ouch.

You want to see in advance exactly what the lender will see. Lenders may be able to help you fix problems, but don’t count on it. Generally, preventing these problems yourself, or fixing, them before you speak with a lender is best.

Since it can take 30-90 days to resolve disputes and inaccuracies and … …Take care of your credit first… then go shopping!

The first step would be to see your credit report, or as lenders say, “run” your credit.

Those who run your credit, lender’s, etc., run what is called a Tri- Merged Credit Report. As the term implies, it is the merging of the reports from the three big credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

Tri-Merged reports are $30-$40. They are very important for you to see, because any company that runs your credit is going to run a tri-merged report on you.

Don’t you want to know exactly what they will see?

Each credit bureau, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, collect their information independently of each other.

For that reason certain bureaus may have different information than the others.

It is often very similar, however, I have personally seen very different reports between the bureaus on occasions.

Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find a free tri-merged report, there are a number of free services, however they only run credit from a single bureau.

Here as and example of one I ran the other day

Personal Profile - contains the spelling of your name, correct addresses and so on. Should be correct, because it’s based on your social security #, but look it over just to be sure.

Credit Summary - provides a summary of your credit, present and past.

Credit Inquiries - shows you those who run your credit in the past two years.

Account History - * The Important Part! * Shows the credit you have and have had in the past. Each area is the creditor and it will show you the account name, account number, the account type, status, monthly payment, date opened, balance, terms, high balance in the last two years, credit limit, past due, remarks and payment status. Credit you’ve had in the past two years will appear on this. If it’s a closed account, but the report shows it as open, you’ll want to contact the creditor and make sure the account is closed. Even if you asked before, they may not have closed the account. Areas to be concerned about are;

Make sure such accounts are really yours. Look at each account and see if it looks correct, date open, balance, etc.

Accounts reported as late or derogatory. Were you really late on that account? If you don’t think you were late, you should contact that creditor and the agency to have the item investigated.

Other negative items, such as Collection Accounts or negative Public Records, make sure these items are accurate.

If you find other discrepancies on the report, especially accounts, which aren’t yours, you’ll want to contact the creditor and get more information.

It may have only been put on your report by mistake.

Be safe though and call the creditor.

You’ll want to start with the creditor first, but if the creditor is unhelpful go ahead and contact credit bureau directly.

Based on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, sections 612 (b), (c), and (d), you have the right to a free credit report from Credit Report Agencies if (paraphrased) you;

are the recipient of an adverse action (for example, denial of credit) due to information contained in the Consumer Report;

are unemployed;

are a recipient of public welfare assistance.

Go to How-Is-Your-Credit.info And Learn More About Your Credit And Why Your Credit Report is Important and The Credit Bureaus’ Contact Information.

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All over the internet, there are many web sites that will offer you the chance to get a no obligation free credit report. However, this offer will only be good until the trial period expires. This is a main issue that people have with internet companies. They advertise that they will give you a no obligation free credit report, however, if you fail to cancel the membership, before the end of the free 30-day trail, they will start charging for their services even if you are not using them.

Many of these companies know that you very likely only want a no obligation free credit report. It is for this reason that they offer potential customers, a 30 day free trial membership. It is your responsibility to cancel the membership on or before the expiration date in order to avoid getting charged for the services. The web sites will give you the information needed to cancel the membership. In general, this will be in very fine print near the bottom of the web site. This is where “reading the fine print” becomes necessary.

While on the web site, scroll to the bottom and write this information on a piece of paper. Then sign up to receive your no obligation free credit report online. You have many different options when it comes to a no obligation free credit report.

There are two ways to receive one; through the postal service (snail mail) or via the internet. You can use snail mail services by contacting any of the official credit reporting companies. The advantage of using these companies is that get a no obligation free credit report without having to give your credit card number or information. Using the internet is also a good idea for those who have the need or desire to keep a careful watch on their credit report. However, most people are happy with their yearly, no obligation free credit report and have no desire to sign up for these services.

Get all of your credit report information at http://goodcreditforyou.com
Copyright 2006 @ Ann Born http://goodcreditforyou.com
No part of this article may be reproduced in any manner without including the author’s bio.

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Just the Start?

According to some sources, you can get a free credit report online anytime. But is this online credit report really free? The answer, really, is yes and no. You can actually get one for free, but with many services, you have to give the site all kinds of personal information. Once they have your personal information, you’ll can expect to receive numerous solicitations from then on, or perhaps (if they obtain your address) send you junk mail or annoying marketing phone calls. Unfortunately, often a free credit report online is really not free at all. The providing service will usually make you sign up for some offer, perhaps with a trial membership to a service that traces your credit and looks for irregularities, or they’ll ask that you sign up for services that are totally unrelated to your free online credit report.

Why You Should Get One Now

Signing up for a free credit report online might also be worth it if you can find a way to get one that’s low cost or cheap. And there are some instances where this is possible. Whatever, you are advised to see your credit report earliest, as all kinds of financial transactions affect your credit score. Remember that time you forgot to pay the newspaperman that last ten dollars when you changed addresses? That damaged your credit! The same thing with that time you made a late credit card payment. All of these things can and do hurt your credit, and will show up in your free credit report online. If, however, you don’t get to see your credit report, chances are you’ll probably never know about these problems until someday you go looking for credit. Therefore, taking all of the above into account, it’s probably wise to spend at least some money and get your free credit report online, if only to put your mind at rest.

Don’t Wait UnTil It’s Too Late

Another reason you might want to get your free credit report online is to prevent the possibility of identity theft. For all you know someone could be stealing your credit information right under your nose. They could, in fact, be using your name and identity to buy cellular phones or order credit cards. They could even be renting homes, pretending that everything is in your name. It happens every day, and it could happen to you. The first step to stop these egregious and destructive identity thefts is to get your free credit report online, so that at least you’ll know if it is happening. Actually getting your credit restored is much more difficult after the event, so it’s important that you get a free credit report online to track whether anything like this is happening right now.

Call To Action!

Restoring your credit once your identity has been stolen can take considerable time and money, not to mention stress. Basically, you have to prove to your supposed creditors that it was not you who bought whatever goods and services were obtained in your name. This is no easy task, and can take at least six months to a year. Don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Free Credit Report Online - Situation Report! The very latest about free credit reports, identity theft, and why you should get your free credit report online today. Copyright © Matthew Middlemiss. All Rights Reserved. Please note: This Resource Box MUST be included with article.

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