Now more than ever, it is important that every person know their credit score and review their credit report on a regular basis. The information contained in a credit report can have either positive or negative impacts on a person’s life that affect both financial and personal matters. Old or inaccurate information on a report can lead to someone being denied a credit card, mortgage, personal loan, apartment rental or even a job. Fortunately, American law now requires that every United States citizen have the ability to obtain a free credit report from three reliable credit agencies once a year. Taking the time to review these reports for inaccurate information can save a person a great deal of problems and money in the long run.
How to Obtain a Free Annual Credit Report
One of the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act is that the three major credit reporting agencies must provide means for U.S. citizens to annually access their credit reports. These agencies include TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. The goal of this provision was to assure that people had ways to check the accuracy of the credit reports arising from from these agencies and to guard against identity theft. In compliance, the companies have established several ways to obtain a free annual report through a jointly created service.
This joint service is called Central Source, which processes requests for free annual credit reports through a website, a toll free phone number or a mailing address. It is the only federally-mandated site approved for providing free annual reports directly to consumers via the Internet. It is no longer possible for a person to obtain their report through the three major credit reporting agencies websites as they are all linked back to Central Source.
The easiest way to obtain a free annual credit report is through Central Source’s website annualcreditreport.com. Basic information must be provided to authenticate identification. A choice can then be made as to which credit reporting company a person would like to receive their report from. The particular company selected may request additional personal information to further safeguard against identity theft. The companies will usually offer options for additional paid services, but these are not required to receive a free report.
For those not comfortable with providing personal information over the Internet, a free annual credit report can also be requested by calling 877-322-8228. After providing information to verify personal identification, a choice can be made as to which company a person wishes to have their report from. After all information has been verified, the report will be mailed within approximately 15 days. The system is largely automated, so callers need to have personal information on hand at the time of call and speak clear English.
Another option to request a free annual credit report is by mail. Anyone can download and print the mail request form from annualcreditreport.com. Once the form is completed, it can be mailed to P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. With this option, it may take as long as a month for the request to be fully proceed.
It is important to keep in mind that a free credit report is available to everyone from each of the three reporting agencies every year. All three reports can be requested at the same time or, for instance, spaced apart to receive a report from a different agency every four months.
Information Needed to Obtain a Report
Regardless of the method used, anyone obtaining a free annual credit report will need personal and financial information on hand at the time of the request. The basic information needed will be name, address, date of birth and social security number. However, to avoid identity theft or other types of unauthorized access to a report, more detailed information will be required. This information can include verification of current employment, verification of bank and credit card accounts or providing addresses lived at in the recent past. To make the process of obtaining a free credit report easier, it is always best to have as much information on hand as possible at the time of the request.
Avoid Free Annual Credit Report Scams
The right for every U.S. citizen to have access to free annual credit reports has also generated an unfortunate rise in companies promoting scams for the same services. This is especially true on the Internet. There are now hundreds of bogus websites offering free credit reports that are nothing more than fronts for people seeking to obtain personal and financial information for illegal purposes or to charge for services beyond providing a credit report. It is best to never respond to an offer for a free credit report. These are usually credit monitoring services that will require credit card information before they will allow someone access to a form for filling out a request for a free credit report. Annualcreditreport.com never advertises and it is the only secure source for receiving an annual free credit report with no strings attached. Keep in mind that a free annual credit report is just as stated – it’s free.
