How to Get Your Free Credit Report

As of September 1, 2005 everyone in the United States, U. S. Territories and Puerto Rico is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report. Basically there are three credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They have come together to create one easy way for consumers to request a copy of their credit report. You are entitled to a free copy of your report annually from each credit reporting company. This means you can actually receive three free copies of your credit report per year. The three versions of your report may not contain the same information. If you would like to check to make sure they all have the same correct information, you can request a copy of all three at once. However, if you would like to monitor your credit report over time, you can request a copy from a different company over time, for example every 4 months. This way you can easily monitor your credit report for fraud and accuracy.

The website set up for requesting a copy of your report is www.annualcreditreport.com. You may also obtain a report by calling 877-322-8228. The mailing address is: Annual Credit Report Service, PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. When submitting the request online, results are instantaneous. You can easily view and print your report as well as dispute any discrepancies. For a fee of $5, you can receive your credit score along with an explanation of how the information on the credit report was used to calculate the score. Suggestions are also offered on how to improve your score.

Be wary of anyone who tells you they can quickly repair your credit. They can give you tips on how to improve your credit score; like dispute any errors, or make sure you have more available credit than you use. However, the only thing that is truly going to repair your credit is time. It took time to lower your score and it will take time to better your score.

The best way to improve your credit score is to consistently make payments on time. Consider using an automatic online bill paying service to help if you have trouble remembering to pay your bills. This service of usually free. The credit repair agency can make payments for you, but they will charge a fee. I recommend setting up the automated service yourself and using the money you would have paid to the credit repair agency to accelerate your debt pay-off.