How do I safely find my credit score? The Fair Credit Reporting Act was created to protect the consumer and requires each of the consumer reporting companies to give you a free copy of your credit report. You are entitled to this report, once every 12 months, at your request. The three main credit reporting agencies, or credit bureaus as they are sometimes called, are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Ever ask the question, “where can I find my credit score?” Well, any one of these three agencies can provide it.
"If you think nobody cares if you're alive,
try missing a couple of car payments."
- Earl Wilson |
The FCRA also gives the consumer the right to accuracy and privacy of the information in their credit history. The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, is the consumer protection agency in America. It enforces the FCRA. Your credit report or credit history includes information about where you live, how regularly you pay your bills, whether or not you have ever been sued, arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. The national consumer reporting agencies sell this information to potential lenders, insurers, and employers, who in turn will use the information to evaluate your applications for credit, for insurance, for a new job, etc. To make sure that the consumer has access to the genuine information, the national consumer reporting companies have together set up one central website, along with a toll-free number, and a single mailing address. You can use any one of these to order your free annual credit report and credit score. Once a year, when I want to find my credit score, I use this Website: www.annualcreditreport.com Toll free phone number:1-877-322-8228 OR Fill out an Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail the completed form to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can print the form out, from www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit A consumer should know that they are not to contact the three national consumer reporting agencies individually. The companies will provide your free annual credit report only through the website at www.annualcreditreport.com, or the phone number and address listed above. You have a number of options while ordering your report and your credit score. For example, you can order your credit reports and scores from all of the three national consumer reporting agencies, together, at the same time, or you can choose to order a credit report and credit score, from each company. On the form, you need to give your name, date of birth, address and Social Security number. To maintain security, each company might ask you for some extra information only you would know, such as the amount of your monthly payment. Only one website can take and fill orders for the free annual credit report and credit score– www.annualcreditreport.com. There are a number of other imposter websites that make claims of offering free credit reports, free credit scores, or free credit monitoring. These are in no way part of the legal mandated free annual report program. In most of these look-a-like offers, the so-called free product has some major strings attached. Some of these sites may ask you to sign up for a “free” service converting to a paid one after a trial period. In case you miss out on canceling within the free trial period, you agree to let them charge your credit card. So be sure to use the website above, the same website I use to find my credit score free of charge every year.
"Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into,
but hard enough to get out of."
- Henry Wheeler Shaw |
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Debt is NOT your friend. It's not a wonderful "tool" for building wealth. That's a myth.
