Free Credit Report Online

Why Check Your Free Credit Report Online?

Many consumers don’t understand the importance of periodically checking their credit reports. A credit report has far more information than just a credit score, and by taking note of changes it is possible to prevent mistakes from inadvertently damaging your credit. Poor credit can result in loan denials and other financial hardship, and it can take a significant amount of time to correct errors. By catching errors early it is possible to minimize any inconvenience or negative effects. Checking your credit report online is faster and easier than doing so through printed reports, and it’s also more secure in the sense that misdirected envelopes could easily end up in unscrupulous hands. Web sites can often provide a report in seconds (depending on the site’s traffic and the speed of your Internet connection), and you can print it out to examine at your leisure.

Where to Check Your Credit Online

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that requires credit reporting agencies to provide consumers with free copies of their credit report once a year upon request. The only official site to check your credit report under this Act is www.annualcreditreport.com. All three agencies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax – use this centralized service for convenience and security. Each agency is required to provide its own report to users, and since each agency gathers its information in a slightly different fashion it is wise to check all three reports each year.

To receive your credit report you will need to provide identifying information including:

• Your Social Security number
• Your birth date
• Your full name
• Your current address

These are not the only questions you will be asked when you request your free credit report. In order to ensure the protection of personal information the website will also guide you through a series of questions that are taken directly from the information on your credit report. Possible questions you may encounter include:

• What is the approximate monthly payment of your mortgage loan?
• What is your mother’s maiden name?
• Verification of a previous address.

These questions are in multiple choice form.

If you are unable to satisfactorily respond to the questions you will not receive a free copy of your credit report online but will instead be directed toward additional procedures in order to verify your identity. This safeguard is in place to make sure the request for access to the credit report is actually being made by the person whose information is listed within the report, and not by someone attempting to steal information. The questions are specific enough to where it would be unlikely that someone could simply guess correctly each time.

Reading Your Credit Report

When you receive your credit report you will find a variety of financially relevant information including:

• Current and previous addresses.
• Bill payment history, including late or missed payments.
• Bankruptcy information if applicable.
• Number and type of credit lines, both open and closed.

You should examine each piece of information carefully for errors and contact both the reporting agency and the information provider to correct any mistakes as soon as possible.

Caution

There are a number of other online services that claim to offer free copies of consumers’ credit reports but only www.annualcreditreport.com is authorized to do so. In fact, many additional services actually offer the free report as part of a trial period for a paid subscription service or they include it as a membership bonus for other services.

Be sure to read the fine print carefully before signing up for any such service particularly if it requires you to input a credit card number, which may later be used for automatic payments if you fail to cancel the service.

If You Can’t Check Online

While checking your credit report is the quickest option, people who do not have access to the Internet or who prefer to avoid online reports are still entitled to their free annual credit reports.

To order a free report by phone, call 1-877-322-8228, or write to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service

P.O. Box 105281

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Forms can also be printed out online from www.annualcreditreport.com and mailed to the same address.

Conclusion

Taking advantage of your free credit report online is the first step to protecting both your identity and your finances. By knowing what information is in your report and working to correct any errors you can begin to repair your credit and secure your financial future.