Get Informed – Stay Informed
You’d probably be surprised by the number of people with credit issues they never knew they had. Maybe they didn’t get that bill the hospital sent or maybe they just plain forgot.
So, the first thing you need to do is find out what is on your credit report? And the government has finally made something easy for you – they now REQUIRE all three credit reporting agencies to provide you with a free copy once per year.
The three credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can request your free credit report by going to www.AnnualCreditReport.com on the web. Your free credit report can also be obtained by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by mailing a request form to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Click here to download a request form.
Once you get your report, look it over carefully. Are there records of past due payments you can show you made on time? Are there accounts still listed that have been closed? Worse, is someone else’s account or address listed under your name? One reason to check your report if to see if identity thieves have been opening accounts in your name. If you find any mistakes, write to the reporting agency and ask to have the information corrected. You should get a response within a few weeks; if not, give them
a call.
The free report will show what is on your credit file but it won’t give your FICO © score. The FICO © score is a points based scoring system developed by Fair Isaac & Company and is based on past payment history, money owed to creditors, length of credit history, recently acquired credit and the types of credit you use. Essentially, your score gives lenders an indication of the likelihood you will pay them back on-time and in full. Your FICO © score is not provided free but can be obtained by going to myFICO.com.
CarManDan TIP!
You’ll see a number of other pitches out there for “free” reports but BEWARE! When you get to the fine print, you have to supply a credit card, sign up for a “credit monitoring” service and then cancel after they’ve charged your account.
Check back soon for Part 2 of the Improve Your Credit Series. Click here to view previous series posts.
Dan Anderson
CarManDan
Moorhead, MN Fargo, ND
New and Used Car and Truck Expert
