#Get My Credit Report

Get My Credit Report

To get my credit report is fairly easy (which is a bit scary). The credit report serves as the basis for one’s credit reputation, i.e. one’s history of borrowing and repaying plus a background about bankruptcy and late payments. When people ask how to get my credit score rather than the credit report it is a bit of a mistake as they are one and the same. Your credit score is the final score but the report will show any payment problems and you can then talk to equifax (or the other credit reporting bureaus) about fixing any errors.

Since the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) has been passed into law, credit bureaus have been legally compelled to provide consumers the means to geta free credit report. Being able to get my credit report for free, by request, once  every 12 months is a good thing as it helps me keep an ey on my credit. Good credit is vital to financial happiness. Some people call it a credit history, no matter what you call it the information included is vital.

To observe the FCRA, credit bureaus linked arms and have set up ways for one to easily get a credit report. Online, you may get my credit report by accessing AnnualCreditReport.com. It is mutually run by the three major credit bureaus in the country.  They can send it to you online or you may call them at 1-877-322-8228 if you want to receive it by snail mail. You can also ask the three major credit bureaus themselves to provide you the report. You may only request once in every 12 months from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Credit bureaus sell a person’s credit history to money lenders, insurance companies, even employers and other businesses for them to assess any transaction that they may enter with you. Because of that you would have to provide your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth. It is adviseable that you keep the information that your credit history contain updated, especially the things like your address. You don’t want to allow identity thieves to get your credit report nor would I want to wait more than a month just to get my credit report only because the credit bureaus’ verification system failed to match the personal information I was unable to provide.

Information that credit bureaus receive, personal or pertaining to your finances, has to be maintained in a confidential manner. This is actually part of law so they really do take it seriously. You have to do your part and not leave your personal information around for anyone to see. If you protect your own details then along with the security from the credit bureaus you have less of a chance of suffering from identity theft.

Protecting Your Credit

Since to get my credit report would allow one access to sensitive data which affects one’s transaction with businesses, insurance companies and lenders, both the government and the private sector have constantly campaigned against misinformation and scams that is pervasive over the Web. There are a lot of deliberate attempts to trick consumers, the most common of which is for websites to pretend to give a full credit report when all they have is some info on you and just want to collect more.

• Do not give your social security number out to everyone who asks. Ask them why they need it, just cause it asks for it on a form does not mean you have to give it
• Do not use your date of birth, mothers maiden name or part of your ssn as a user name or password online
• Do not leave papers laying around your home where guests could pick it up
• If you suddenly find you haven t received mail for a few days ask the postman about it. Someone could be stealing it
• Shred everything, no matter how unimportant it may seem, shred it

Where should i get my credit report

Asking how do I get my credit report is one thing, but where you get it is real question. It would be worth noting that AnnualCreditReport.com is the only legally mandated website that can provide you with your credit history.  Always be wary of any other sites offering you the chance to get my credit report for free, there is always a hidden cost or requirement. Especially if they ask for your social security number or bank details before anything else. If in doubt close the site down.

If you choose to get your credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, you can view it instantly. If you’d rather receive it through snail mail by calling the toll free number, to get my credit report would take about 15 days. You should take note though that when receiving your report through snail mail, situation arises where credit bureaus would need more than 15 days to hand you over your annual report. Most of the time, it is caused by their need to verify some more the information you’ve given them or when the credit bureaus themselves are stuck in a pile of requests. If ever you experience this, you may call again to remind them of your request or you may ask them when they would have the time to look over at your application and already get my credit report.

I try and get my credit report every year, even if I do not suspect anything I like to get my credit report out go through all the details. A small problem can soon expand into a bit black mark on credit reports so be certain to make sure all the details are correct.