FREE Credit Report for ConsumersEvery consumer is allowed a free credit report once a year.
Effective December 1, 2004, consumers were entitled to receive one free credit report each year. The free annual credit checkups were mandated by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed int law last December by President Bush. This law includes a number of provisions designed to fight identity theft, which hits millions of U.S. consumers each year.
This is an important right for consumers. Currently numerous websites offer free credit reports but all require trial subscriptions to credit monitorning services. The site that is mandated by federal law is free.
To obtain a free copy one can call the free number:
877-322-8228
Written requests can be obtained by writing to:
Annual Credit Report
Request Service
P. O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
You will have the option to choose from the three bureaus:
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion
Since the contents of a credit reports is a major factor in purchasing a home, car and sometimes even qualifying for a job - Consumer Advocates urge consumers to quickly take advantage of this opportunity.
It is usually a good idea to obtaina free copy of your credit report months before you plan on purchasing your home. It might take a little while to fix any errors on your report. Also, if your scores are low, there are things that you can do to boost your scores. By doing this, it will help you to purchase your new home.
Every consumer should make sure they are utilizing the free annual credit report each year to verify that the information contained within their credit report is accurate and the credit report contains no false information. When obtaining your free credit report you should make sure you definitely take advantage of obtaining reports from all 3 credit bureaus (all 3 will provide you 1 free report each year) and obtain them seperately so that if you do need to dispute information you can do it easily with each bureau.
Remember that you are also entitled to receive a free credit report every time you are denied credit, employment or insurance. You also may be entitled to a free report if you receive some types of public assistance or are unemployed.
Getting your free credit reports from the 3 credit bureaus every year is very important. However, credit reports can be difficult to read and interpret. I can go over your credit report with you and tell you what it means.
Each credit bureau will have slightly (or not so slightly) different information on file about you. Since all three credit scores will be taken into account when you apply for a mortgage, it is important that you clean up your report with all three bureaus.
