Free Credit Report

Equifax is one of the three major credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and Tans Union. All three get information from creditors voluntarily. You may have heard of the agencies, and realize the important of your credit report. If you do, then you may be interested in retaining a copy of your own credit report from Equifax. Your Equifax credit report should be of great interest to you since the contents can have such a profound influence on your ability to make certain purchases. Therefore, it is important to understand what you are going to see on your report and what it means. The contents of your Equifax credit report can basically be broken down into five parts: your personal information, inquiries, your credit history, public record information, and your overall credit score.

The first part of your Equifax credit report is your personal profile. Your personal information is kept in this portion. You name, aliases, spouses name, current and former addresses, birth date, employment history, and Social Security number. When looking at your Equifax credit report, make sure the information is accurate. You can make corrections to the information by talking with Equifax.

Next, you will find the inquiries section. Here, you can see everyone over the last two years that has requested your credit report. You will find two types of inquiry on your Equifax credit report: hard and soft. A hard inquiry is one made by a company and initiated by you, like when you apply for a mortgage or credit card. A soft inquiry does not show to creditors unless you request it and is made by existing creditors who are monitoring your credit.

Third on your Equifax credit report is your credit history and public records. Your history will have a detailed list of your credit debts. It will include how you have done in terms of paying, all late payments, and information about how the account has been paid to date. You records will include bankruptcies, liens, and over due child support type information. Any public records are negative and will lower your overall score. They usually will stay on your Equifax credit report for six to ten years.

Last you will find your credit score. The credit score is a rating that shows how great of a credit risk you are and what the chances are that you may default on a loan. Most lenders will use the credit score as factor in y our loan application. The number of the score is between 300 and 850. The higher the score on your Equifax credit report, the less risky you will be considered by creditors. If the score is lower, you will be seen as a higher risk and while you still may get loans, you will likely be headed toward higher rates of interest.

Your Equifax credit report has a big influence on your ability to make purchases on credit. Many state and federal laws allow you to receive a copy of your Equifax credit report either for free or at a low cost. Take the time to get a copy of your Equifax credit report, as well as ones from the other companies. That way you can be sure that all of the information is correct and have an idea of how risky you are so that there are no surprises when you got apply for any loans.

If you would like more updated information on my credit report resources, or read more articles like the one you just read, please feel free to visit my credit report blog.

Share This

The FCRA determines who may gain access to your credit report. Creditors (Lenders), Insurance companies, employers along with other business that use information contained in your credit report to evaluate applications for credit, employment, insurance, or home rental are among those that have the legal rights to access your credit reports. Your employer can only get a copy of your credit report if you agree. The consumer reporting companies may not under law disclose any information from your credit report to your employer or prospective employer unless they first obtain written permission to do so from you.

You can obtain a FREE Credit Report from Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union by completing and mailing the Annual Credit Report Request Form to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. This form can be printed from www.ftc.gov/credit There is also a toll free telephone number to call to request a copy of your free credit report: 1-877-322-8228. You will need to provide the following information to get your free credit reports: Your Social Security number, your name and address including your previous address if you have moved in the past two years, your date of birth, as well as some other information that only you would know such as the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

If you request a copy of your free credit report online, you will be able to obtain it right away. If you call in or mail your request with the Annual Credit Report Request Form, your request will be processed and mailed to you within 15 business days after its receipt. This time period may take longer if the nationwide consumer reporting company needs more information to confirm your identity. If there happens to be an abnormally high volume of requests for free credit reports at the time you request yours, you will be notified that your report will be mailed to you sometime after 15 days of receipt.

To purchase a copy of your credit report, you may call the consumer reporting companies direct with the following telephone numbers:

Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742) Trans Union: 1-800-916-8800

The cost to buy a copy of your credit report is generally $9.50 or less for each agency.

Each nationwide consumer reporting company gets information from different sources so the information contained in any one report may not be the same. The information may not reflect all of your credit info so requesting a free copy of your credit report from all three major agencies is the best way to get the full story of your credit.

This article was written by Kriss Standke who is an accomplished Webmaster and publisher of Free Credit Report Spot, and Credit Score Resource, as well as Massage Therapy Spot where he provides detailed and informative articles, tips, and advice.

Share This

You can obtain a FREE Credit Report from Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union by completing and mailing the Annual Credit Report Request Form to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. This form can be printed from www.ftc.gov/credit There is also a toll free telephone number to call to request a copy of your free credit report: 1-877-322-8228. You will need to provide the following information to get your free credit reports: Your Social Security number, your name and address including your previous address if you have moved in the past two years, your date of birth, as well as some other information that only you would know such as the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

If you request a copy of your free credit report online, you will be able to obtain it right away. If you call in or mail your request with the Annual Credit Report Request Form, your request will be processed and mailed to you within 15 business days after its receipt. This time period may take longer if the nationwide consumer reporting company needs more information to confirm your identity. If there happens to be an abnormally high volume of requests for free credit reports at the time you request yours, you will be notified that your report will be mailed to you sometime after 15 days of receipt.

To purchase a copy of your credit report, you may call the consumer reporting companies direct with the following telephone numbers:

Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742) Trans Union: 1-800-916-8800

The cost to buy a copy of your credit report is generally $9.50 or less for each agency.

Each nationwide consumer reporting company gets information from different sources so the information contained in any one report may not be the same. The information may not reflect all of your credit info so requesting a free copy of your credit report from all three major agencies is the best way to get the full story of your credit.

This article was written by Kriss Standke who is an accomplished Webmaster and publisher of Free Credit Report Spot, Credit Score Resource, and Check Credit Report Online where he provides detailed and informative articles, tips, and advice on free credit reports, how to get yours, and what to do with the information once you receive it.

Share This