How To Get Your Totally Free Credit Report
Did you know that you have the right to get a totally free credit report annually? This is due to the recent legislation called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. There are two easy and convenient ways to obtain a free copy of your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies.
The first way is the manual method. To obtain a free copy of your credit report, you can send a letter to all three major credit report agencies. These agencies are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
As soon as they receive a request for a your totally free credit report, they will send it to the address you provided. You can also visit the website of each company to obtain your report. You should receive a report from each company in about six weeks.
The second method is a little more efficient. The 3 major credit reference agencies got together and created a website where you can request your annual credit report. Just visit annualcreditreport.com.
Once you have answered some personal questions and verified your identity, you can see a free copy of your credit report from each of the 3 different agencies. Make sure you check the boxes to request a report from all three companies to receive free copy of credit report from each of them.
Once you have your credit report on screen, you should print a copy off. You can then store it away in a safe place should you need it at some time in the future.
The reason that the law was changed to allow people to access their credit report on an annual basis was because of the problem of identity theft. By checking your totally free credit report every year you can see whether there is anything on there that shouldn't be. Although it will not stop a criminal that tries to steal your identity, you will be able to find out about a problem sooner. You can then alert the authorities and take action to clear your name.