free credit report gov

free credit report gov

Importance of Checking Your Credit Report Regularly

1. The Significance of Monitoring Your Credit History

Credit scores are very important for purposes like purchasing a home, a car, and finding a good job too. Your credit score can affect many areas of your life and allows for you to pay lower rates for the items you decide to finance. If you have a low credit score, this can prevent you from being able to move into a new home/apartment, buying a new car, and cause higher rates on your car and home insurance. When you have higher interest rates and higher insurance rates due to a low credit score, you will end up paying a lot more money over the course of time. The best reason for keeping track of your credit report is to protect yourself against identity theft. This type of theft can be the most devastating to your credit score and really affect you in a negative way. By monitoring your credit report, you will be able to see any changes that may be unknown or inaccuracies to your report. Regular monitoring of your credit will allow you to take action and remedy any problems that have arisen as soon as possible. These are just a few reasons why it is important to monitor and maintain current knowledge of your credit history and credit rating.

2. Benefits of Obtaining Your Free Credit Report

Save Time and Headaches when Applying for a Loan or Credit. These days, with just about every type of loan and credit card, your approval and the interest rate you are going to pay is directly related to how high your credit score is. A C grade on a college exam is considered average, but when talking about credit scores it’s a different story. The median national FICO score is at an all-time high of 723. So, because a C grade is average, and there are people who get A’s and B’s, anything less than a C in the world of credit is going to be below average. You want to know what is on your credit report before you apply for a loan or credit card, so there are no surprises when the bank or credit card company pulls your credit report and takes a look. If your credit report is less than favorable, you will probably be denied credit, but you would qualify for a higher interest sub-prime loan. If you know in advance what is on your credit report, you will avoid wasting time by applying for loans and credit cards you know you will not be approved for. You would also avoid the embarrassment of being denied credit in the presence of others.

Catch Identity Theft in the Act. By obtaining your credit report, you may find out that another party has been using your credit card or other financial information to make unauthorized purchases. Many times, the unauthorized user will change the address on the account so that the cardholder will not see the bill. This could go on for several months or even years, and the cardholder wouldn’t know it was happening until the credit card company or collection agencies contacted them, or they were denied credit. By this time, much damage will have been done to the credit report. But, if the cardholder was checking his credit report every so often, he would have noticed the change of address on the account, and most of the damage could have been prevented.

Now that you know how to obtain your report, and the fact that it’s free, you’re well on your way to understanding a very important factor concerning your credit report – the effects your credit report can have on your financial future. Here are some reasons why you should obtain your report:

3. Understanding the Government’s Role in Providing Credit Reports

The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 was a groundbreaking step in the interests of all people. It recognized “a need to ensure that consumer credit reports are accurate and are so used.” Essentially, it gave people rights to see what was being said about them behind their backs. After amendments in 1996 and the institution of the FACTA, which will be discussed later, it is even stronger and more important today. The amendment of the FCRA in 1997 stipulates that consumers now have free access to their credit reports once every 12 months from all nationwide credit report companies. Previously there was a fee attached and it was hard to find a way out of paying. Although it allows for free access, it does not affect states like Georgia that prefer their own regulations, but there is not much. This sparked movement within the government to make it more readily available for all and gave birth to the FACTA. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was signed into law in 2003 to further protect the rights of consumers in credit reports. Its main focus was the protection of identity theft which is a costly and growing problem recently. Identity theft is essentially using someone else’s personal information to obtain credit and in turn leaving a mess of false information with the victim’s name on it. FACTA ensures that people are able to detect and stop identity theft earlier with provisions such as new more clear disclosures on credit reports, extended fraud alerts, and an amendment to the FCRA that allows consumers to request to block information that resulted from identity theft.

4. How to Access Your Free Credit Report from the Government

One more way to have a free credit report is to ask it from credit bureaus. To go to the official page, you can access annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228. We can get a free credit report from three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion annually. Each should provide a very similar report. The report can be obtained immediately after filling out the online form, but if we use a call, we will get it during two weeks. Since the official site has many impostor sites, the best way is to type it in an address bar or a search engine. It also should be noted that the Annual Credit Report service does not request our personal information. We can also monitor a better history of our credit. If we do not understand what the information contained in the credit report is, it is advisable to ask for help both a credit counselor or from relatives who are more understanding of this.

5. Taking Action Based on the Information in Your Credit Report

Another quick fix for a credit report usually can be made by people whose credit has not been damaged significantly. For those who have had credit for only a short period of time, typically 2 years, taking the following step will greatly improve your credit report. The step is to obtain a small installment loan. Most often, loans are paid in installments, which means you pay a fixed amount each month to pay off the loan. This technique has an added benefit. It changes the credit report from one that shows little on which to base a judgement of a debtor, to a credit report that looks busy and structured, well thought out. This method can often add 20 points or more to a credit report, but it is not a recommended technique for everyone. If you do not need a small loan, do not get one merely to try and boost your credit rating and credit report. This tactic is effective for students who have just finished schooling. Many students have part-time jobs that provide a steady income and would enable them to take a small loan.

The best thing to do is often the most difficult. You must reduce your overall debt! If this is all you do, your credit report and rating will improve. A detailed plan is set out later in this booklet, but you should begin by trying to get your credit card balances to 25% or less of your limit. This is the first step in making a plan that involves a change in your credit use habits. Take stock of any high balances you have on store cards. These wreak havoc on your credit and you can often pay a high interest rate for a card from a department store. Coming up with a better payment plan is always a plus for your credit report. With each debt, the most important thing is to understand what has to change in your behavior or spending habits, and then make an action plan and set a goal.

Create an action plan consisting of the steps you will take to improve your credit report. If your credit report contains information that is accurate but negative, that is, the report is accurate but not what you want to see, there are steps you can take to improve your credit report. If your report is accurate, there is nothing that can be done to remove the negative information if it is accurate and timely. Only time, a conscious effort, and a personal debt repayment plan can improve your credit report. Do not be taken in by ads from companies that promise to repair your credit report. They cannot do anything for you that you cannot do for yourself. This section will help you take the steps needed to make changes such as payment.