Should You Get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report?
It has only been recently that consumers were entitle to a free copy of their credit report from each credit reporting agency, Equafax, Experian, and TransUnion. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 the credit reporting agencies became required to provide every American with a copy of their credit report for free, once a year. Some people are aware of this law yet do not take advantage of it. Other people do not know that they are entitled to a free copy of their credit report from the credit bureau’s and either do not get one at all of end up paying for it form a third party. If you have never taken advantage of your right under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to get your free credit report, it is something you should strongly consider as it is free and a great way to make sure your credit information is accurate, free of errors (they occur more often than you may think) and that there is no suspicious activity.
It is important to review your credit report periodically. If you have never gotten a copy of your credit report for review, you may be wondering why you should especially if you have seen all the advertisements for free credit reports and credit monitoring services from numerous third party companies. The information contained on your credit report is how companies that provide loans, mortgages, and other types of consumer credit make their decisions on who to approve and what interest rate to charge. If you know what is on your credit report long enough before you apply for these types of credit you will be able to fix any mistakes you may find or even improve your credit rating by clearing up any issues that are present. It takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for changes to your credit report to take effect, and this is why it is important to know what is in your credit report long before you apply for any type of loan or credit. At the very least knowing what is on your credit report, even if you can’t make any improvements, will prepare you for what to expect in terms of interest rates and whether or not your loan application will be accepted.
Because your credit rating is so important when it comes to getting credit, loans, and deciding interest rates, it is in your best interest to be familiar with your credit report so that you can take all the necessary steps to improve your rating. The better your credit score the lower an interest rate you will get and this can potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the life of a loan or mortgage. It is also possible that the information on your credit report can be wrong, many people have mistakes on their credit report that negatively impacts their credit and they don’t even know it. This is another reason why it is important to watch your credit report to make sure all the information contained in it is accurate. Looking at your credit report will can also alert you to fraud if someone is illegally using your identity or personal information. Many times suspicious activity will show up on your credit report before you notice it else ware and you can then stop it before devastating damage is done to your credit and identity.





