The Right Way to Get Your Credit Report

If you haven’t reviewed a copy of your credit report, perhaps now is the time.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees each person access to a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) every twelve months.  Make sure, however, that you get your credit history from AnnualCreditReport.com, because it is the only source authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide free credit reports to consumers.  The FTC has received numerous complaints from consumers who ordered their credit reports through FreeCreditReport.com, which is run by Experian and automatically signs consumers up with a trial membership.  In response, the new 2009 credit card legislation requires that credit reporting agencies clearly state that their services are not actually free.

Whether you decide to order the three reports at once or spread them throughout the year so that you can monitor your credit report every four months is entirely up to you.  My suggestion would be to switch between the two, so that you can compare your credit reports and also monitor your credit score/history frequently.  Different credit bureaus calculate your credit score differently.  You also want to check all three reports to make sure you recognize all the accounts listed and that all the information is correct.  Go to the FTC’s website if you want to dispute credit errors or suspect identity theft.

But why are credit scores and history even important?  Check back with Money Under Your Futon and find out.