Tomorrow is the third anniversary of a federal provision that lets consumers in Rhode Island and other Eastern states obtain a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months.
The next 12-month cycle starts tomorrow.
So, assuming that you’ve faithfully taken advantage of this provision every 12 months since the provision took effect in September 2005, you may order a free copy of your credit report starting tomorrow.
Yes, you can try one of those “free credit report” offers advertised on the radio and TV.
But they typically charge you — if not for the credit report itself, then for various related services.
Instead, order a copy at no charge — and with no hidden fees or long-term contracts — directly. Use the clearinghouse that the big credit reporting companies have established to handle such requests based on the terms of federal law. Use any of the following methods:
•Call toll-free at (877) 322-8228.
•Order online:
www.annualcreditreport.com
•Use the Web site above to print out a request form. After you complete it, mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Technically, you may order a copy of your credit report any time in the next 12 months.
But the sooner you obtain your report, the sooner you can check to see if there are any errors or other problems that might sully your credit record, said Steve Grasso, chairman of the Rhode Island chapter of the Financial Planning Association, a trade group for financial planners and others.
“It’s preventative medicine,” Grasso said in an interview at his office on Park Avenue in Cranston, where he is a financial adviser for the Cranston branch of the Edward Jones investment firm.
A credit report — sometimes called a credit file — is the official record of your personal credit history. It includes details on your car loans, credit card accounts, mortgage loans and other items.
In other words, it’s a snapshot of your financial life, credit expert Steve Bucci of Narragansett says in the newly updated edition of his book, Credit Repair Kit for Dummies.
The report brings into focus the details of your spending and borrowing. Lenders use the information in the report to help decide whether to give you credit, and on what terms. Others use the information, too.
“A bad credit report may affect what you pay for insurance, whether you can rent the apartment of your choice or whether you’ll be hired for certain jobs,” according to Bucci.
If you expect to take out a loan in the near future, you need to know, in advance, what your credit report looks like.
Even if you don’t plan to borrow, you should check your credit report to help thwart identity theft, said Grasso, a Certified Financial Planner practitioner.
Thieves may try to use your name, Social Security number and other personal information to create false identities for financial misuse.
It’s helpful to carefully review your credit report to make sure nobody has obtained credit in your name without your approval, Grasso said.
Once you receive your report, review it for errors. Make sure, for example, that it accurately lists your personal information — including your name, address and Social Security number.
Also check to see if you have any accounts that you may not have used in years but which nevertheless remain open.
Look for accounts or other activity that shouldn’t be listed — items that could hurt your credit, Grasso said.
A few other points:
•At any time in the next 12 months, you may obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three big national credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Instead of ordering a copy from all three at once, consider spacing out your requests. For instance, you might order your Equifax copy in September, your Experian copy in January and your TransUnion copy in May. In September 2009, start the process again. That way, you can monitor your credit report throughout the year, at no charge.
•Remember that credit reports are maintained on individuals, based on Social Security numbers. So if you’re married, each spouse should obtain a copy of his or her own credit report.
•Consumers in some states, such as Massachusetts, are also eligible for a free credit report based on their own state laws. Also, you can always obtain a free copy of your credit report in certain circumstances — if, for example, you’ve applied for credit but have been denied, Grasso said.
TODAY’S TIP: Is the money you have on deposit at a bank covered by federal insurance?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has published a new, plain-language guide with answers to questions you may have about the insurance rules.
It’s part of the latest issue of the agency’s newsletter, “FDIC Consumer News.” (The issue also includes other topics, including what to do if your home-equity line of credit has been reduced or frozen.)
It’s available online at no charge at this FDIC Web site:
www.fdic.gov/consumernews
Credit report plays an important role in the life of All Americans and they cannot do much financially without this. According to Fair Credit reporting act, all Americans Citizens are entitles with a free copy of credit report from all three major bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion upon request. Apart from this we can check our credit report at any time of year whenever we need it. One should check his/her credit report once after every six months. If we need to get our credit report more than once from a credit bureau, we have to pay some dollars to them for this service. Credit report determines the credit worthiness of a consumer that the creditors and lenders use before offering a new of credit or extending the existing credit to a customer. So there are some good big reasons due to which we should check our credit report regularly:
- Before applying for a loan – It is a good idea to check our credit history or credit report before applying for a loan. When we check our credit history, we will have better idea about our credit worthiness and whether we have a good or bad credit history. It is our credit report that determines if we will be able to get new loan and if yes at what rate of interest. And in case you came to know that you have bad credit history, look for ways to improve it. So this way you will be helping yourself for getting loan and that’s also at the lowest rates.
- Checking for errors – Another big reason to check credit report is keeping track of the records in your credit report and if there is some error in your records; notify that to the respective credit bureaus. This way you will be able to keep your report error free and also be able to correct your records before they are being picked by creditors and lenders. Right now we have many tools including security freeze, email alert to better manage our credit reports. With email alert, you will know about every new entry into your credit records and can discover the errors in your credit report and thus can help them error free.
- To avoid identity theft – To avoid identity theft, we need to check our credit report regularly for illegal activities. Identity thefts can use your personal information to get new credit by your name or can withdraw large amount of money using your credit related information. But in case you keep track of your credit report regularly, you can easily notice all these kind of activities easily and thus can avoid such activities before they make you bankrupt.
The instant credit report is processed online. One can never get this report manually and it normally takes some days to process. The manual or offline credit report is obtained by ordering a copy via mail or phone to the physical address of any or all of national credit reporting agencies. Then the credit reporting agencies will process your request and give you a feedback in the next 15 days normally. A credit report is free or not depends upon the kind of request made. Basically there are three types of credit reports: annual credit report, consumer credit report and business credit report.
Annual credit report – Annual credit report is credit report maintained by all of three credit reporting agencies Experian, Exuifax and TransUnion about consumer’s credit history in US. According to Fair Accurate Credit Transaction (FACT) act, all consumers in US can get a copy of free credit report annually from all of three national bureaus via request. For all later subsequent requests, have to pay to credit bureaus.
Consumer credit report – Consumer credit report is also an account of consumer credit history offered by credit reporting agencies in US. This credit report is different from Annual credit report in the sense that it can be demanded at any time for some reason by the consumer. Consumer credit report is not free while annual credit report is offered free of cost by nation credit bureaus. So a consumer can get an instant consumer credit report online by paying for this service.
Business credit report – Business credit report is an account of the credit history of a company or a business. Like annual credit report, this credit report is not free.
So we can get one instant credit report, but can get it only one time from all of three credit reporting agencies in a year. Be careful against sites that offer to give a free copy of credit report. Only annualcreditreport.com gives the free copy of credit report.
