Checking Your Credit Report

Your credit report contains information on where you live, where you work, how you pay your bills, and whether or not you've ever been arrested or declared bankruptcy. This information is incredibly important because it affects so many parts of your life.

Interest rates for mortgages and other loans are based on your credit score. Many employers check credit reports before making an offer. And an increasing number of auto insurance companies are looking at credit reports in determining policy premiums. You may find yourself paying higher rates even if you never get into an accident or get caught speeding.

There are three credit-reporting agencies that gather information about your credit and provide your credit report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that have a legal right to access your credit report. These three companies are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.

Under federal law, you are entitled to receive one free copy of your credit report from each agency once a year. You should be sure to get a copy from all three agencies since they get their information from different sources and the information in each report may be slightly different.

You can either order all three reports at the same time or you can stagger them so you receive them separately, such as ordering one free report every four months.

Given its importance, you can can understand why checking your credit report regularly is so vital. You'll be able to make sure that all information on your credit report is accurate, complete, and up-to-date. You'll also be helping to protect yourself from identity theft. If someone steals your Social Security number or credit card number and commits fraud in your name, the fraudulent accounts will appear on your credit card.

If you do see inaccurate information on your credit report, you should report it immediately. Notify the consumer reporting company, in writing, of the information you believe is inaccurate. Provide as much information you can to back up your claim. The agency must investigate the items in question. The company that provided the information in question to the consumer reporting agency will also receive notice that there is a dispute. If it is determined that the information was inaccurate, the provider must notify all three agencies of the correction.

If the investigation does not resolve your dispute and the inaccurate information is not removed or corrected, you can ask to have a statement attached to your credit report. The statement will allow anyone who pulls your credit report to see that you dispute an item and the reason why.

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