How to Get Your Free Credit Reports

The free credit report is a report on the creditworthiness of an individual that is generally issued of charge to the individual as a requirement in the financial institution industry. In the United States the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows a U.S customer to receive an annual credit report when he requests it. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com for your copy. A credit report is comprised of information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you have a criminal record with the police or have ever filed for bankruptcy. Consumer reporting companies sell the information in your credit report to insurers, creditors, employers and other companies that use it to evaluate your application for credit, employment, insurance or renting a home.

You must provide your name, Social Security number, address and date of birth to obtain a credit report. If you have moved in the past two years, you may have to provide your previous address. To uphold the security of your file, the consumer reporting company may request a little information from you that only you would know, such as the amount of your monthly mortgage expense. Each company may request different information in view of the fact that the information each has in the file may be sourced differently.

Credit reports contain information that determines whether you are eligible or ineligible to get a loan and how much you have to repay to borrow money. You should get a copy of your credit report for several reasons: to insure that the information is correct, unqualified, and the most current before applying for credit for a major acquisition like a car or house, to buy insurance, to apply for employment, or to help safeguard against theft of your identity.

Identity theft is when somebody uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number or, most commonly, your credit card number to commit a hoax. Identity thieves might use your information to open a fresh credit card account in your name. Then, as soon as the thief fails to repay your bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. This results in ruination of your good credit rating. Such imprecise information could easily affect your ability to get more credit, insurance, or a job.

Under federal law, you are permitted a report to establish the good credit rating when a company takes undesirable action against you, such as refusing an application for credit, employment or insurance. To avail yourself of this protection, you must ask for a report within 60 days of getting the notice of such action. The notice will provide the consumer reporting company’s name, address and telephone number. You are also permitted one annual report in the following situations: if you are unemployed and plan to search for a job in 60 days, if you are on welfare, or if your report is inaccurate due to fraud or identity theft. Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you as much as $10.50 for an additional copy of the report in a 12-month period.