How Do I Get A Credit Report For Free?
How to obtain a credit report for yourself for free
Your credit report features your credit records, such as details about your payment history, the amount of credit you have used, credit inquiries, and the like. This information is reflected in your credit score which is used by lenders and others to determine your creditworthiness in transactions like loans, credit cards, housing applications, etc. It is good to frequently conduct credit report checks to ascertain that there is no sign of an error or identity theft that would have a poor outcome on your credit.
To top it all, you can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus namely Equifax, Experian, and Transunion every year. This article contains information on how one can order their free annual credit reports online, through a phone, or by sending mail.
Ordering Online
Ordering the free yearly credit reports from the three credit agencies is easiest and safest done via AnnualCreditReportcom. Federal law states that once every twelve months from each of the national credit agencies, this website lets users see their credit reports free of charge.
Visit the AnnualCreditReportcom website and click on the link reading "Request your free credit reports" to obtain your reports online. This link will send you to a page to enter further information verifying your identity. Your name, age or date of birth, social security number, present address,s, and other prior addresses will be sought.
The following phase is to complete your information; at last, the software will probe you numerous times about your identity to ensure you are not a robot. These inquiries rely on the information on your credit record that relates to your financial status only known to yourself. You also have to choose if you want one, two, or three free Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports. Once you have made your requests, your credit report will be accessible for you to see online where you may also download or print your findings. The total procedure ought not to take more than five to seven minutes.
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Ordering by Phone
Besides the Internet, one can request the free annual credit report through the phone using the Annual Credit Report Request Service number This is a toll-free number, when you dial it, you are connected to a system that includes instructions that will enable you to confirm your identity and also place an order for credit reports from one or more credit bureaus.
The identification process is also very similar to how it is done online, after which one can begin gambling. Some of the questions that may be asked in the completion of the form include the provision of SSN, date of birth, addresses, and responding to quiz-like questions that emanate from your credit file. After your identity has been verified, you have several options within the phone system, follow the instructions to choose whether you wish to receive reports from one or all of the bureaus. You will receive your reports in the mail within five to seven days from the date of submission.
Ordering by Mail
It is also possible to obtain your free annual credit reports by making requests through the mail with the help of the Annual Credit Report Request Service form. You can complete the form by writing by hand the information, or there is an electronic form that you can complete, however, you will need to print this out as it will require a signature which has to be mailed in.
This form asks you to disclose your Full Name, Home Address, Social Security Number, and Date of Birth so that the credit bureaus can verify your identity and retrieve the credit files. You also have to provide which credit bureau file you want – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – by placing a tick on the appropriate box. Last of all, and on the right bottom of this form, affix your signature and date the form then mail this to the address provided at the top part of this form.
When the bureaus have received your request, they will fulfill your request, you will have to confirm your identity and you will receive your credit report(s) in the mail within fifteen days. The last method takes the longest time as it needs time for your request to be transported through mail as well as time for reports to be delivered through mail.
Reviewing Your Credit Reports It is imperative that you carefully go over each of the credit reports you have been provided with to ensure that there are no errors or mistakes. Other red flags to look for are fraud or identity theft, accounts or charges you don’t recognize exist. In case you notice any funny activity or any information that you think is not correct in the credit reports, you should immediately dispute the problem with both the credit bureau and the reporting company. It is important to challenge errors submitted by the credit bureaus in other to rectify an erroneous credit score that may otherwise reduce the chances of getting approved for financial and loans. It is also important to note that you can get in touch with each credit bureau in case you have a question or you are not sure about some of the information which is contained in the credit file. Also, seek help if you have concerns about how you get your credit reports or verify your identity. The contact details of the three main nationwide credit bureau agencies are as follows
Equifax – equifax.com or 800-525-6285
Experian – experian.com
TransUnion – http://www.transunion.com or 800-680-7289
Monitor Credit Regularly However, it is crucial to keep checking your credit regularly to identify any problems as and when they arise through the year apart from the once in twelve months when you order your free credit reports. Subscribing to free credit monitoring services helps one to receive notifications in case of credit changes. Some of the things to look out for are accounts that are opened in your credit report that you never applied for, inquiries that are made in your credit report that you never applied for credit with, or debts that are on your credit report that you are not familiar with. It deserves efficient management of credit report issues because failure to do so will lead to more time consumption.
You are also eligible for other free credit reports in specific circumstances that signify fraud or theft concerning your identity, apart from the annual ones. For example, if you put a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit report, you can order additional free reports. Identity theft victims are also entitled to additional free copies of credit reports to more effectively track accounts affected by fraud and rebuild from it.
Since consumers can directly request credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, credit monitoring does not affect one’s score. This is because checking your reports to see how lenders view you is a soft inquiry and does not harm your credit score. On the other hand, while using credit to review when considering a new application request, these too are considered by the credit score as hard inquiries and may pull the scores down slightly. Hard inquiries occur when one applies for credit and rarely are essential; therefore, avoid making many applications by using free credit reports.
Your credit information can then be used to determine the extent of your responsibility and reliability in handling other monetary obligations. To help ensure that the credit reporting companies list accurate positive credit information, it is important to review the reports frequently and challenge any inaccuracies immediately. While the service is free, ensure that you spend some time and read the reports from AnnualCreditReportcom with a lot of dedication at least once per year.
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