Free Instant Credit Report
Because of the efficiency of the internet, it is now possible to acquire a copy of your credit report, online, in as little as two minutes!
A public interest research group study produced in 1999 discovered that 70 percent of credit reports contain at least one mistake. Depending on the type of error that has been made, this type of error can be detrimental to your abilities for financial achievement when it comes to loans and credit lines.
This is why it is recommended that you check your report every year, or at least every two years, to be sure that all is as it should be. Making sure that your credit report is as accurate as it can be will save you substantial money for credit card payments, loans and even mortgages. Also, as many employers will check your credit report before offering you a job, your credit report can also even effect your job status!
It is also wise to check your credit report to protect you against credit fraud and identity theft; other crimes which are becoming more popular over time.
Errors on your credit report could mean that you are paying higher interest rates than you need to be paying.
Fortunately, these errors can be repaired; however, this is only assuming that you know that these errors exist. You have to know what they are before you can correct them!
Checking your credit report can be extremely fast and easy, and even free, if you check the correct places online.
Credit reporting agencies, also known as credit bureaus, are responsible for collecting, maintaining and selling information about you and your credit history (as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act). These bureaus receive information about you on a regular basis, about your accounts and payments, from financial institutions where you have opened accounts or taken out loans.
Lending institutions, credit card companies, potential employers, landlords, utility companies, and others (with a reasonable purpose) buy this information from the credit reporting agencies in your credit report. Credit reporting agencies do not make the decisions themselves. The final decisions are made by the company which as requested your credit report; they are the ones who determine how your information is to be interpreted and used.
There are three national credit reporting agencies in the United States: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. These companies process the vast majority of credit reports. The three of them operate very similarly, but because of human errors, and the inconsistency of financial institutions of reporting information, the odds of discrepancies existing are very high among the three different agencies.
To contact these three agencies for your credit report, you will need the following information:
Equifax 800/685-1111 www.equifax.com
Experian (formerly TRW) 888/397-3742 www.experian.com/consumer Trans Union
800/916-8800 www.transunion.com
Your credit report can be ordered by any of those credit bureaus, or from the more than 1000 credit service companies that exist under the credit bureaus.
When you want to check your report, it is wise to have the appropriate information and identification available, so that you won't have to search for it when it is requested of you. You will need:
- Your Social Security Number
- Your date of birth
- Your current address, and previous addresses (for the last five years)
- Your maiden name, if applicable
Many credit service companies will even offer you a free credit report when you sign up for their credit monitoring services.
With today's technology, credit reports can be easily obtained using the internet. There are even 3-in-1 credit report comparisons available for receiving the information which is stored at all three of the major credit reporting bureaus. As these three bureaus are independent of one another and they contain different information, it is extremely useful to be sure that all three are accurate.
There are a variety of different companies that will offer you credit reports online, though some are easier to read than others. Some are also more convenient to your particular situations than others. Some have additional features that may be very useful to you. In the end, though, they all have the same basic data that you will need to remain an informed consumer.
This modern credit reporting system will help your credit grantors to approve your loans and credit in minutes! The system provides continuously updated information for fast, accurate decision making with your credit transactions.
It can reflect your prompt payment and can make it comparatively easy to open new or augmented credit lines…as long as it's accurate. And its up to you to make sure!