#My Credit History

If I were in the market for a new loan or financing for a house or car, I would look for ways to check my credit history. There are a number of ways to check my credit history, including one that allows me to look at all three major credit reports for free .

Thanks to federal legislation, the task of how to check my credit history can be solved by visiting a single Web site. All three major credit reporting agencies. Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, are now required by law to give consumers access to their credit reports for free once a year. By going to annualcreditreport.com, consumers can see what their credit report holds. All three reports can be different, so receiving all three is important to make sure your credit has not been adversely affected in a way that was picked up by one credit agency and missed by others.

If I didn’t want to take the risk of using the Internet to obtain such important information, there are other ways to check my credit history. It can also be obtained by telephone by dialing a toll-free number. If the consumer calls 1-877-322-8228, they can receive the same credit reports they would receive online. Another method is to obtain it by mail. If the consumer contacts the Federal Trade Commission, they can obtain an Annual Credit Report Request brochure, which they can fill out and mail to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA. 30348-5281. The process will end in receipt of the same three credit reports, but will take several weeks to receive.

There are a number of other sites or companies that offer other methods of how to check my credit history, but many are not telling the complete story. Many companies that offer their service as a way how to get free credit report neglect to mention that they will only allow the consumer to receive one of the three credit reports for free, and access to the others will cost them a fee. Others allow access to all three credit reports only after the consumer signs up for a “credit monitoring” service, which can cost $80 or more a year.