How to Get a Free Annual Credit Report

When was the last time you got a hold of your credit report? How about the last time you even laid eyes on your credit report? Believe it or not, many Americans have never seen their credit report. There are no good excuses. If you have not taken the time to request this information as of late, now may be the time.

Did you know that federal law allows you to receive one free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax? That is right. Once per year you are allowed to request your credit report, and you will receive this information free of cost. Keep in mind that this report will not include your credit score. That being said, it does offer a lot of good information on your current credit situation as well as your past credit history. Even if your credit score is not supplied, this is well worth the time and effort. After all, you don’t have to spend a dime. The reporting agencies offer toll free 800 numbers as well.

Why would I want to receive a free annual credit report? For one thing, this is a great way of making sure that nothing is “out of line”.  Remember, mistakes can happen. Many people have a lower credit score than they should because of one or more mistakes on their report. You will not know if your credit report is accurate if you have never seen it before. And you can’t do anything about it unless you look at the report and review it for mistakes. Mistakes can be made by the credit agencies. They are known to put the wrong persons information under the wrong name. It is also possible that you may be a target for some kind of credit fraud and not be aware of it. There are many important reasons to request a free yearly credit report.

Has your credit limit recently been reduced? Were you turned down for a loan that you thought you would definitely be approved for? If you are facing any unexpected trouble you will want to request your free annual credit report. You will quickly be able to pin point the issue and in turn clear it up right away before things get any worse.

So where can I get my free annual credit report? Simply put, you can request your free annual credit report from each credit agency at: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. This is the only link you need to get started.

If you are interested in personally contacting any of the three credit reporting agencies by phone the toll free 1-800 telephone numbers are listed below:

Experian: 888-397-3742
TransUnion LLC: 800-888-4213
Equifax: 800-685-1111

It is easy, just follow the link above. Once you have your credit reports from each of the three credit reporting agencies in front of you, the next step is to go over all of them closely. Do you see any mistakes? If so, you need to call the corresponding credit reporting agency (numbers above) to file a dispute.

You are entitled to a free annual credit report by federal law from each of the three reporting agencies, so you might as well take advantage of it!