Tip #24: Look out where you get your credit
report - and what it contains.
You can get your credit score
from any number of resources. One place you can get it
from is from credit bureaus themselves. You can pay
for the service, but you qualify for one free credit report
a year or qualify for a free credit report if you have
recently been turned down for credit or if you think you may
have been the victim of identity theft.
If you can, get a copy of your
free credit report from each of the three major credit
bureaus. If you can’t get a free credit report, you
should still try to get one, even if costs a few
dollars. The savings you will enjoy on your loan rates
when you improve your credit score will more than pay for
the cost of the reports.
There are a number of online
companies that offer free online credit reports. These
offers are very attractive because you get an online report
without having to wait for a report to be sent to you, and
you often can get several reports from the different credit
bureaus at once, which can save you time.
However, these online companies
vary widely, so you will want to compare a few different
firms before choosing one. You will also need to read
the online company’s agreement very carefully - some promise
free credit reports only with the purchase of a credit
repair program or some other kit. In some cases, you
can decline the offer and still get the report but in other
cases you cannot.
Buyer beware.
Also, some companies will offer
you free credit reports that are really a combination of
reports from the three major credit bureaus. This is
not useful, since you will want to compare each of the three
credit bureau reports and fix each credit score
separately. You will want to look out for online
companies that offer credit reports that are very condensed
and you will want to avoid companies that will spam you
(send you unsolicited emails) trying to get you to subscribe
to some service. Always read carefully to see whether
the free credit report offer is legitimate.
That said, there are a number of
online companies that offer credit reports and credit scores
at no charge and these can be a useful way for you to start
your credit repair, especially if you are comfortable around
computers.
If you don’t qualify for a free
credit report from the credit bureaus, a legitimate online
company may be your best bet of getting your credit
information so that you can start repairing your credit risk
rating.
You do qualify for one free
credit report per year. You can get this credit report
through email at www.annualcreditreport.com or
by calling 877_322_8228.
You can also ask for your free
credit report by mail by sending a letter to Annual Credit
Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA
30348_5281 or by filling out this form available at the Federal Trade
Commission's Web site.
No matter where you get your
credit score and credit report, make sure that you get the
most complete information package you can. Credit reports
are not very exciting or even easy to read. If you are
ordering your report online, look for one that includes
graphs or lots of details that are easy to
understand.
Make sure that you get both your
credit report and your credit score - even if you have to
pay extra. If you get just your report, you will not
be able to follow the secret and complicated math formulas
used to arrive at your score and the report itself will not
make as much financial sense to you if you don’t have your
score in front of you, as well.
When you do get your credit
report you will notice that it contains lots if information
about you, including:
1) Your personal and contact
information. This will include your name and your
address, as well as your past several addresses, your social
insurance number, your employers (past and present) and your
birth date.
2) Your personal information
about credit. A credit report notes all the details of
your loans, including the types of loans you have now and
have recently had, the dates these loans were opened, the
credit limit on each loan, how well you have been repaying
those loans (this is important - skipped or late payments
count heavily against you in your credit score), and who
your lenders are.
3) Information about you that is
on the public record. This may include bankruptcies,
unpaid taxes, unpaid child support, tax liens, your dealings
with collection agencies, foreclosures, loan defaults, civil
lawsuits that you have been involved in, and other
information. Much of this will stay on your credit
report and will seriously affect your credit
score.
4) Information about who has
looked at your credit report and credit score. Every
time that someone looks at your credit score it is called an
“inquiry.” Your credit report lists who has looked at
your credit report in the past two years and how often you
have applied for loans and credit in that period of
time. Too many inquiries tends to look bad and tends
to affect your credit score.
When you get your credit report,
it is important that you look at all parts of your credit
report and understand what you are reading. Mistakes
in any area of your credit report can affect your score, so
be sure to check the entire report for inaccuracies and
errors.
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