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3 Free Credit Reports For You
If you were to tell someone that they can have a certain item
for free, more than likely their response would be, "what's the
catch?" In the case of credit reports there is no catch, you can
now get a free copy of this report through the three credit
reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnions, and Experian. Let's
take a look at the law and how you can benefit from it.
An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
requires the three national credit reporting agencies to provide
one free copy of your credit report to you annually. Beginning on
December 1, 2004 and culminating on September 1, 2005, the
Federal Trade Commission is requiring that these agencies offer
reports on a rolling, phase in basis. In other words, on December
1, 2004, if you live in certain western states you became
eligible at that time and every three months later additional
states were added. By September 1, 2005, residents of all states
are eligible.
Fortunately for consumers, you need not contact the three
reporting agencies separately to obtain your free credit report.
You can order right online at www.annualcreditreport.com; or by
calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the Annual Credit Report
Request Form and mailing it:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
The form is available online where you can print it out and
mail it in: www.ftc.gov/credit.
If you need copies more often, you can contact the three
reporting agencies and request copies. You will pay for this
service.
To buy a copy of your report, contact:
Equifax
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
www.experian.com
Trans Union
800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
There are also private companies who will obtain all three
copies of your credit report for you as well. There is a fee
involved, but you may find their services to be less of a hassle
than contacting the three companies separately.
So, how can you benefit from the law? By ordering copies of
your reports from the companies on a four month rotating basis.
Most consumers will find this plan to be sufficient and it will
allow for you to compare/contrast the reports of each agency. Of
course, if you already suspect fraud you will want to order all
three reports at once and notify each agency to place a "fraud
alert" in your credit file.
All in all, the new law is a big win for consumers. Take
advantage of this "windfall" as soon as you become eligible to do
so.
Matthew Keegan -- The Article Writer -- writes on a
variety of business, financial, and personal interest topics. You
can view additional samples of his work at http://www.thearticlewriter.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News
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