With identity theft and fraud becoming a more frequent occurrence it is increasingly important to check your credit report with all three credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
It can be confusing to many to have three different sources you need to check your Annual credit report from but it is necessary to check all three. It is always a good
idea to check your credit report yearly from all three agencies. Not all the credit bureaus may have the same exact information on you and although it would be great to have all the credit bureaus report the same exact credit report it is unlikely.
There are many different places you can obtain your credit report and some offer extra features that you will not get directly from the bureau. You need to ask yourself what you are looking for. For example, in addition to your report you might want the following:
- Credit Score
- Credit Score simulator
- Credit monitoring
- Financial Calculators
As a result of the FTC's final ruling under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, each are required to provide consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit once every 12 months from a centralized source.
This centralized source includes a Web site, a toll-free telephone number and a postal address.
The annual free credit report program rolled out region-by-region and is now fully effective as of Sept. 1. If you obtain your credit report by this method you only get a copy of your credit report and no extra features. If you are looking for a credit score or credit monitoring then this is not the best option for you. You can request them three ways: over the Internet by going to annualcreditreport.com; by phone, by calling 877-322-8228; or by completing the Free Online Annual Credit Report Request Form, and mailing it to: Free Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281.
It is important to view your report and make sure you recognize all the information and verify it is accurate. To some people the credit score it of more importance. If you are looking for a report and score you have a couple of different options.
If you were do do a search on google for "free credit report" you would get over 83 Million results. Since there are so many different websites out there you really need to look at what they offer and find what best fits your needs
Some people are not as interested in their credit report but are more interested in their credit score. You will probably want to chose a websites that offer extra financial calculators, articles, and score simulators which help predict how your score will change if you paid off a credit card for example. Below is a chart that compairs some of the websites out there today and what they offer.
You should take a monent to review all the websites listed above and become familiar with what they offer. Not all credit reports are created equally. Some credit report come in an easier to read format than others and some may provide descriptions and deffinitions so you can better understand what your reading. Remember to ask yourself these questions before you chose to order your credit report, score or credit monitoring online:
1) What are you looking for?
- Credit Score
- Credit Score simulator
- Credit monitoring
- Financial Calculators
2) Are you looking to just get your free yearly credit report with out any extras?
3) How much are you willing to pay for any extras?
Before you order yore credit report, credit score, credit monitoring online make sure you understand what you are ordering. Not all sites that offer credit reports online are free and if you are looking for added features like we talked about earlier in this articel then you will be paying alittle more for them. Good luck to you!