Find free credit report online

Free credit report online will help to know your yearly credit status. You can find numbers of online sites those who gives you free credit report, free credit scores and free credit monitoring but very few sites are legal sites and are authorized to issue such annual free credit report.

The Fair Credit Report Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies. There art three legal financial companies Equifax, Experian, Trans Union to provide you the free copy of your annual credit report at your request once every 12 months.

Free credit report online includes all the information related to you like where you live, how you pay your bills and whether you have been sued, arrested or field as an bankrupt.

This credit report helps you in doing big finance deals like purchasing furniture, property or vehicles at the same time it may be problematic to some of them if they don`t have a good credit report.

Free credit report online saves your time the only thing you have to do is they provide you with the annual credit report form you just have to fill it with all the correct information`s. take care that you don`t provide any false information regarding your credit card number or regarding your billing because if you fill the false information your will not be accepted and it will be rejected, so try to avoid all such things and save your time with free credit report online.

Anna Josephs is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on various topics such as pet health, automobile and social issues. She also has great interest in poetry and paintings, hence she likes to write on these subjects as well.

Fantasy Credit Report

Your Credit Report (the Boring Part)
 Your online credit report is a collection of files and records pertaining to your credit history. It is often referenced for hiring, renting, mortgages, loans, background checks and many other situations which may require an involvement of a larger sum of your income or a need for your personal services. Your online credit report contains the good the bad and yes, the ugly, within its pages. There are 3 major credit report bureaus from which the information comes from: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. For the most they are similar, but between the three bureaus there may be some different items listed.

What If!?
 What if your online credit report was only full of positive, correct and up to date items? This would be like a fantasy credit report. You could use it like a tool for certain things like getting a low interest loan or the mortgage you actually wanted. You could use it as a weapon against those creditors who automatically assume that your credit sucks and turn the whole finance game around on them. This fantasy credit report would be like a report card with all A's (something most of us have never experienced right?). Imagine not having to worry about what the results are going to be when the phone rings from the bank because you have total peace of mind that your credit report is not only clean but also free of errors and mishaps. The anxiety of waiting for the results of your credit standing concerning a major purchase can cause equal or more mental tension than a doctor walking in the room with his results for a major medical test.

Making the Fantasy a Reality
 Okay, so this whole fantasy credit report thing is exactly just that right? A fantasy. Well... not necessarily. See, you are the only one that can ultimately control what happens to your credit report. Yes, of course there are those 'unknown factors' - BUT, the good news is there is a big first step you can take to help start achieving your own personal fantasy credit report. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report and see what negative items are sitting on your file. More than 70% of all U.S. citizens with credit reports have false or out of date items on their credit file. By spotting these items early and taking the appropriate steps to remove them you can improve your credit rating. What else can you do? Develop a personalized budget. It will take a couple months of re-adjusting but will help you to see where your money is going and begin to mature your spending habits. Also, think about your major purchases before you make them. Too often in our society, consumers buy things without a second thought and "paint themselves into a corner" financially. When you take on more payments than you can afford you have set up your credit report for long term damage. Here is a saying to think about regarding this type of situation: "If your outgo exceeds your income, eventually your upkeep will become your downfall." Remember that the fantasy credit report is waiting to evolve before your very eyes - you just have to make it happen.

Do You have Negative Credit Information in Your Credit Report?

If there is inaccurate or incomplete information in your credit report:

Contact both the credit reporting agency and the company that provided the information to the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA).

Tell the CRA in writing what information you believe is inaccurate.

Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the information provider is required to investigate and report the results to the CRA. If the information is found to be incorrect, it must notify all nationwide CRAs to correct your file. If the investigation does not solve your dispute, ask that your statement concerning the dispute be included in your file. A notice of your dispute must be included anytime the CRA reports the negative item.

If the information is accurate, only time, hard work, and a personal debt repayment plan will improve your credit report. Credit repair companies advertise that they can erase bad credit for a hefty fee. Don't believe it.

Under the Credit Repair Organizations Act, credit repair companies can't require you to pay until they have completed promised services. They must also give you:

 - a copy of the "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law" before you sign a contract;
 - a written contract that spells out your rights and obligations; and
 - three days to cancel without paying any fees.
 - Some credit repair companies promise to help you establish a whole new credit identity. You can be charged with fraud if you use the mail or telephone to apply for credit with false information. It is also a federal crime to make false statements on a loan or credit application, to give a false Social Security number, or to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service under false pretences.

If you have lost money to a credit repair scam, contact your state or local consumer affairs office or the National Fraud Information Center.

Out of Control Debt

Counseling services are available to help people having trouble budgeting money and paying bills. Credit unions, cooperative extension offices, military family service centers and religious organizations are among those that may offer free or low-cost credit counseling.

Local, nonprofit agencies that provide educational programs on money management and help in developing debt payment plans operate under the name Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS). They are members of the National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC). To locate the agency closest to you, call 1-800-388-2227 or visit nfcc.org.

Several national nonprofit organizations also provide information and assist people with debt problems via the phone and Internet.

American Consumer Credit Counseling.
InCharge Institute of America.
Money Management International.
Myvesta.

Typically, a counseling service will negotiate lower payments with your creditors, then make the payments using money you send to them each month. The cost of setting up this debt-management plan is paid by the creditor not you. Ask these questions to find the best counselor for you:

What services do you offer? Look for an organization that offers budget counseling and money management classes as well as a debt-management plan.

Do you offer free information? Avoid organizations that charge for information or make you provide a lot of details about your problem first.

What are your fees? Are there set-up and/or monthly fees? A typical set-up fee is $10. If you're paying a lot more, you may be the one who's getting set up.

How will the debt management plan work? What debts can be included in the plan and will you get regular reports on your accounts?

Can you get my creditors to lower or eliminate my interest and fees? If the answer is yes, contact your creditors to verify this.

What if I can't afford to pay you? If an organization won't help you because you can't afford to pay, go somewhere else for help.

Will you help me avoid future problems? Getting a plan for avoiding future debt is as important as solving the immediate debt problem.

Will we have a contract? All verbal promises should be in writing before you pay any money.

Are your counselors accredited or certified? Legitimate credit counseling firms are affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling or the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

Unfortunately, honest credit counselors have a lot of rivals who are more interested in taking your money than helping you. They can do more harm than good. Red flags are:

Big upfront fees. A reputable credit counseling agency will send free information about itself and the services it provides without requiring you to provide any details about your situation.

Unrealistic promises. Some companies falsely claim they can solve problems for pennies on the dollar or remove negative information from your credit record.

Check with your local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed about the company.

Disputing Credit Reports—What You Need to Know

Managing credit often becomes complicated when details are lost, confused, unknown or when there are disputes on personal credit reports. Many times there will be errors with purchases or credit records. Other times, you may be dealing with fraud from information being stolen and used by someone else. No matter what the error, the Credit Bureau can offer tips, information and help for credit reports that don`t have the right information.

There are three major Credit Bureaus that provide reports to individuals so they know what their credit standing is. These are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can request a credit report every six months for free to make sure there are no errors and that identity fraud is not occurring; otherwise you will have to pay a small fee to access your report. 

If you notice that your credit report is inaccurate, then you have the right to dispute inaccuracies. There are three ways to dispute information in your credit report, including online, by telephone or through mail. It is important to note the confirmation number of the report first sent to you. If you don`t have a confirmation number it means that the credit file is compiled by an affiliate or you have purchased your credit report through a reseller. If you have an affiliate, a dispute can be made through the credit bureau which will also have your credit file. If you have gone through a reseller, you will have to get another credit report from one of the three companies listed above.

Once you have the credit report, simply review the report for inaccuracies and those entries that are not valid may be disputed. With everything that you claim is incorrect and dispute, you must give a reason why you believe the information is false. You can dispute information by mail or online. If you are disputing a credit item online, be assured security measures are always taken. These are known as Secure Socket Layers and have codes in order for you to be able to provide the proper information without it being lost or stolen online.

After making a dispute with the Credit Bureau, an investigation will begin of your credit
report. Whichever bureau you go through will collect and organize information from several different resources, including records, historical information, and sources, such as your bank and information from the company the supposed false information is with. After the investigation is completed, the Credit Bureau will send you a confirmation which you can view online. This will contain the results of their investigation. The full time allotted for any of these disputes is a maximum of thirty days. It is always possible to check the status of the investigation at any time during the process. If you have disputed your credit by phone or mail, the results will be mailed to you after thirty days.

If you are not satisfied with the conclusions the Credit Bureau has made regarding your report you may make a consumer statement about the part of your credit that you are not satisfied with. This additional explanation will help your credit if the report does not clear and comes back in the future. The information will also be reviewed a second time to be sure that the investigation was accurate. Many people who have incorrect information on their report will also use credit repair companies to remove inaccurate information. It is important to look into these companies first, as many provide false information to customers and may not be able to fix the inaccurate information as claimed.

As with anything, mistakes will inevitably happen and this applies to credit reports from the three major credit bureaus as well. Additionally, fraud will occur too, however if you are the victim of fraud or a simple credit bureau mistake regarding your credit information there are methods in place that will allow you to have the information corrected.

Discover the Parts of a Credit Report and What They Mean

So you ordered a copy of your credit report to check for inaccuracies and get the most from your credit score. Now how do you read it? Your credit report is read and used by any number of people you deal with on a daily basis, from your landlord to your employer to a potential lender. Fortunately, it has gotten easier to order a copy of your report, but it's not so easy to understand what all those abbreviations and numbers mean once you've got it.

If you haven't ordered your credit report yet, you will soon be entitled to a free copy from each of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Some states can already take advantage of this new policy, but people living in eastern states will have to wait until September of 2005. Order your free yearly copies from all three agencies and check for the availability of the annual reporting program in your area at the same website: annualcreditreport.com < annualcreditreport > . Each report will contain different information because retailers and creditors only report to the agency in their area or with whom they have an agreement.

Once you have your credit report in your hands, you will see that it is divided into four main sections:

    • Consumer information
    • Account histories
    • Public records
    • Inquiries


Double check the accuracy of your identifying information. This will include your name, address, phone number, previous addresses, date of birth, and Social Security number (SSN).

Next, for each account history, or trade line, you will see the following information:

    • Date you opened the account
    • Type of credit account (either installment, such as a car loan or mortgage, or revolving, such as a credit card)
    • Name(s) on the account
    • Total loan amount, credit limit, or highest card balance
    • Amount you currently owe
    • Amount of your monthly payment
    • Account status (either open, closed, inactive, paid, or other)
    • How promptly you have paid on the account


Credit agencies vary as to how they word various sections of the report and should provide you with a guide to reading their versions. One agency might report in the last column of an account history that you paid "on time" or "30 days late." Another agency might use a numeric code to rate how well you paid off a debt. R1 is the code used for an excellent repayment history on a revolving charge account. I1 is the code used for an excellent repayment history on an installment account. Obviously, the higher the number next to either the R or I, the lower your repayment history is rated. So an R4 would indicate a history of late payments.

The public records section will include any tax liens, bankruptcies, judgments, or other financial-related legal matters. Depending on the type of action taken, these damaging records may stay on your credit report for up to 7 to 10 years.

The last section lists the inquiries made on your credit. Hard inquiries are those requests to pull your credit when you apply for such things as loans or lines of credit for services. Soft inquiries result when companies sending out promotional items to pre-qualified individuals check your history or when your current creditors check your payment status. The soft inquiries only show up on the report that you order, not on reports pulled by lenders.

While too many inquiries in a short period of time can signal a red flag to a lender, most credit scoring models are least affected by this portion of your report.

Check your report for any errors and report them immediately in writing. If you need more information about how to reach the three main credit bureaus, please go to apscreen.com.

Don't forget that the credit agency providing your report is also a great source of information on not only reading your credit report, but raising your credit score.

Credit Report Score

Credit report score help to know how credit worthy you have been. Credit report is your personal financial report card in other words it`s nothing but all your credit history. Your credit report can affect your daily life from where you live and work to how much you pay for a loan or insurance. Here's a guide to protecting your financial reputation

Unfortunately many of us do not know our credit score, if you take an approximate you will come to know that only 33 percent of consumers know their credit scores according to Government Accountability Office.

As important as it is to know how much money you have available before you write a check, it is equally important to know your credit score and what is on your credit report. Not knowing these things could cost you money.

You can have a copy of your credit report and one should know where he financial stand at the end year. This credit report keeps all the track of your purchasing and payments of your bills and many other financial matters.

This credit report helps agency to determine whether or not to give you a line of credit or loan you money. As higher the score, the les risk the lender believe you to be. As your credit score climb you interest rate you are offered probably decline.
The credit report lists your each and every financial detail, like the account you have open, even if it contains a zero balance.

Anna Josephs is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on various topics such as pet health, automobile and social issues. She also has great interest in poetry and paintings, hence she likes to write on these subjects as well.

Credit Report Questions and Answers

It is a written report (stored in computers comprised of the following information about your personal credit worthiness and debt repayment history.

•Identification by name, address, spouse's name, date of birth, Social Security number, telephone number, place of employment, mother's maiden name, etc.

•Credit inquiries - every time a subscriber (credit provider) runs a credit report on a consumer, a record of the file inquiry is made. It will remain on the file in most states for one or two years. This is of interest to creditors because it reveals recent credit activity.

•Information in public records and collection accounts are also collected by (or reported) to these agencies. Public records include courthouse records, bankruptcies, judgments, law suits, criminal records, etc.

•Credit history - which includes the name and ID number of each subscriber who makes a report and your credit/debt repayment history. Also included is the date an account was opened, credit limits, current balance, monthly payment amount and payment frequency for the last 12-24 months. Records are dated with each request of entry. Other information includes, but is not limited to, consumer disputes, criminal convictions, individual liability or joint liability of accounts, co-maker or guarantor of payment on a certain account, secured accounts and charge offs (when a creditor has reported an unpaid balance as a loss).

•Consumer statements - a statement, not to exceed 100 words, regarding any account(s) an individual may wish to more accurately and completely explain, often very helpful to credit decisions.

When is a credit file created?

Usually when you make application for a loan or credit card or when a party who extended credit makes a report to their credit reporting service on your debt repayment.

Who can legally look at my credit report?

Credit reporting agency subscribers comprised of banks, other lenders, merchants extending credit, life insurance companies, companies on employment applications, rental leasing, security clearance, etc. may not access an individual's credit record unless disclosure is made that a credit report will be requested and in many instances must receive authorization from the consumer. This authorization is standard procedure when you sign an application in any of the above transactions. Read the fine print on the applications for more details.

How often should I look at my credit report?

If you are actively using credit, using one or more credit cards with monthly or bimonthly charge activity, have installment loans(s), vehicle lease, etc. review your credit file every nine to twelve months, otherwise every 15 months is adequate.

What if I need help?

Avoid any type of credit repair firm or service. Do it yourself instead. It is easy and inexpensive.

Credit report is your financial proof

Credit report is a legal statement of your credit history. Credit report shows actual where do you stand in your financial dealing and it has all the detailed information about a consumer like address, date of birth, telephone number, method of paying bills, and also the information`s like did you ever been arrested, any legal dispute civil judgment, bankrupt and many more.

One can easily get their credit report thanks to FACT Act, under this Act a consumer can get a free copy of their credit report which can be helpful for them in all their financial dealing like purchasing furniture, house, vehicle and all others. Some time it may be problem for you as it has all your financial history.

At a time one can have the credit report from all the three legal financial companies. It`s not a big thing to get your credit report online as all three financial companies have their own legal websites. One has to fill up their online form which they have provided with all your correct information so that you will be able to get your credit report as soon as possible. Make sure you enter all the correct details as some of them won`t give their credit card number correctly. If it happens then your form will get rejected and will not be accepted by any of three sites.

You can find many online sites those who are providing you with credit report but it`s always good to have a copy of your credit report from a legal financial sites.

Anna Josephs is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on various topics such as pet health, automobile and social issues. She also has great interest in poetry and paintings, hence she likes to write on these subjects as well.

Credit Report form Three National Credit Bureaus

Today any resident can have one free copy a year of their credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus. The annual free credit reports are mandated by to reduce the incident of identity of theft by encouraging consumers to regular check their credit histories for suspicious activity, such as a new credit card account that was never requested.

The three national credit bureaus are competing companies. The gather all the details of their consumer separately, they don`t share their consumers data with each others. Though the format of credit report of three national credit bureaus in different but they all has got the same information`s about their consumers like former address, employers, fraud alert, recent inquiry by credit generator, and all other public records on which the credit report is based on.

The trade lines includes the credit limits, balances owing, the payment histories of loan , credit card and all other accounts as reported by the subscribes to the respected bureaus whether Experian, Equifax or Trans Union.

As this bureaus don`t share their data. It`s common to find a difference in the data, as well as the scores for the same consumer. Many of companies are members of one or two bureaus but not all the three.

Consumer should be prepared. Getting the credit report may not be easy as number of consumers have complaint about the programs it`s because many times consumer won`t provide all the correct information. Avoid all the incorrect information and get your credit report.

Anna Josephs is a freelance journalist having experience of many years writing articles and news releases on various topics such as pet health, automobile and social issues. She also has great interest in poetry and paintings, hence she likes to write on these subjects as well.

Credit Report and Credit Score

Credit Report and Credit Score is used to check credit worthiness of a person. Credit score is based on the data provided by the credit report that indicates payment history, accounts, etc. Today many lenders and retailers take the help of credit report and credit score to lend credit. Credit report and credit score helps the bank lenders to judge the credit worthiness of a person at the time of allotting him credit.

Person with bad credit report and score find it difficult to raise the credit whereas the person with good credit score and report does not face any financial stake. The credit report and score provides a true picture of a person's financial position. But it is the initiative of individual or financial institution to ask for it. This credit report and score are provided by credit bureau within few days of your request.

It is advisable that every person must understand his/her credit report. Initially the law prohibited for its disclosure but later on it was made available on request. It is vital that one should check his/her credit score and report any errors found. Remember a small error in your credit score can harm your credit report in a big way. Generally credit score ranges from 300-750 but many people have their credit score within 600-750. In business terms, score above 700 is regarded as excellent credit score.

Why Check Free Credit Report and Score?
Checking Credit Card does not harm your credit score. Checking removes the bad remark in your credit report and similarly in the credit score. It indicates your financial position in the business. Regular updating of credit report also helps to rectify any major financial error. If you find any error or mistake in your credit report assure that you rectify it immediately.

How can you get your Credit Score?
It is true that credit score is totally based on the content in credit report. As the content in credit report varies there is variation in your credit score. It is possible to view your credit report online just by requesting for it. The credit report and credit score that you get through these online services do not cost much.

Credit report agencies: they affect your personal credit as part of their business

Credit reporting agencies are organizations that help credit card companies, loan companies, banks, and departmental stores in the country to ascertain the credit worthiness of their would be clients. They provide these companies information about those who are good credit risk and those who are not.

They receive most information about consumers from loan companies, credit card companies, banks, credit and lending sources. In this report you will their will be information on your occupation, place of employment, residence record, court and arrest records, income status, details on payment of your past and present bills and loans.


Once they have detailed information from these sources, they into give it to any organizations in need of it when requested. Though they keep on file information concerning you and your credit, they don`t make final judgments as to your credit worthiness. The decision is up to the credit card companies or any lender which you are dealing with to provide this.

Whenever you apply for new credit card, loan or any form of credit from any sources lenders will base their acceptance or rejection of your application on your personal credit report. If your credit report shows you`ve been reliable in the past, then you will most likely get the credit card or loan you apply for. However, if you have in one way or the other defaulted on particular account or you were constantly late in making payments, it will likely be impossible for you to get the credit you applied for.


You can get a copy of this report from credit bureau because it`s your personal credit file and you have absolute right to know what is in it. You have right to know exact information they are giving out concerning your name and credit worthiness. If the report is not good enough or you can proof to yourself that it`s all about your past, you can change it. You can build your new credit worthiness. It`s possible.

Credit Report -- 5 Secrets Credit Bureaus Don`t Want You to Know

If you've ever applied for a loan or credit card, chances are your lender acquired and examined a copy of your credit report before deciding whether or not to grant you credit.

Your "Credit Report" is a record of your credit history and it's prepared by agencies called "Credit Bureaus", or "Consumer Reporting Agencies." These are private organizations and have no affiliation with the United States (or any) government. There are 3 major credit bureaus in the United States (2 in Canada) and their names are Experian, EquiFax, and Trans Union.

Did you know that credit reporting is a multi-billion dollar a year industry? It's true! The credit bureaus are for-profit organizations that generate billions of dollars in revenue each year from selling copies of credit reports to creditors and mailing lists.

Your credit report affects more than your financial life. It could affect your education, career, and even your relationships. Your credit report is used not only by lenders and creditors, but also by auto, life, and home insurers, future employers, and even some educational institutions. It affects the interest rates you'll pay on everything!

So as you can see, your credit report can have a critical impact on many facets of your life. For example, because of a bad credit report you could be forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars MORE in loan interest over the life of your home mortgage. This is no exaggeration!

Since the credit bureaus prepare and distribute your credit report to lenders, they clearly wield a great deal of power over both your financial and personal life. But it would be a grave mistake to be intimidated by them, or to think that you have no choice but to live with the negative effects of a bad credit report.

In fact, there's plenty you can do!

Always remember; Knowledge is power! There're a few facts the credit bureaus would rather you don't know. Let's take a look at them, and you'll see why.

1. Credit reports are filled with errors!

It will probably astonish you to learn the percentage of credit reports that contain errors. While there seems to be some disagreement, estimates range from 1 out of every 3 (on the low end) to as high as 90%! Here's a "run down" on error estimates.

Percentage of Credit Reports Than Contain Mistakes

Attorney General of NY     1/3
Consumers Union         48%
US Congress            1/2
Charles Givens Organization    90%

So no matter who you believe, it's clear that way too many credit reports have errors. So even if you think you have good credit, it might be well worth your while to get a copy of your credit report and take a careful look at it.

2. The law is on your side!

In 1972 Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curb abuses by the credit bureaus. The FCRA is the governing federal law on the issue of credit reporting.

Under the FCRA, you have the right to dispute negative information in your credit report. The credit bureaus then have 30 days to verify the disputed information with the creditor. If they cannot (or do not) verify the disputed information within 30 days, it must be deleted from your credit report.

3. Even accurate data in your credit report must be deleted if it's not verified.

If you've done any research into credit repair you've no doubt run across statements to the effect of "Negative data in your credit report that is accurate cannot be removed." As stated above, the FCRA stipulates that any disputed information must be verified within 30 days, or it must be deleted. The "burden of proof" (in a manner of speaking), is on the credit bureaus.

4. Credit repair DOES WORK in most cases!

You'll hear all kinds of opinions as to whether "credit repair" (i.e. efforts to improve your credit report) can be successful. The truth is, credit repair doesn't always work perfectly. But in almost every case the process of credit repair will result in at least SOME improvement in your credit score, and most often that improvement is substantial. So credit repair does work!

Now you may be wondering why repairing your credit score would be of any concern to the credit bureaus. After all, don't they make money by compiling and distributing credit reports regardless of whether those reports are negative or positive?

Well, yes they do, BUT...they also make money (a GREAT DEAL of money) selling names of people with poor credit, to creditors who have a specific interest in those people.

So why would some creditors want to bother with people who have poor credit? Because they know they can charge higher interest rates to those people, because the "bad credit risks" have no choice but to pay those exorbitant rates or forgo credit altogether!

Besides, investigating disputed information costs the credit bureaus time, manpower, and money. They have nothing to gain, and plenty to lose, when people take the initiative and dispute negative information on their credit report.

5. It's perfectly legal to hire third party help to repair your credit.

There are plenty of "Credit Repair Agencies" who will help you repair your credit. But if a credit bureau even suspects you're using such an agency, it's likely they'll try to discourage you from doing so. In some cases they'll even go so far as to send you a letter stating that use of such agencies is illegal.

Such statements are (to put it as politely as possible) garbage! In fact there are laws that regulate such agencies. Now laws don't exist to regulate illegal activity, except to ban it! When was the last time you saw laws that regulate what cocaine dealers must do to operate within the law?

Once again, repairing a bad credit report just isn't in the best interest of the major credit bureaus. But unless you happen to be the CEO of one of those bureaus, the most important question as far as you're concerned is "What's in MY best interest?"

First of all, get a copy of your credit report and examine it. You can get a free copy of your report at annualcreditreport.com.

Secondly, take steps to improve your credit report. You can go about it in one of two ways.

1. Hire third party help.

If repairing your own credit report sounds too intimidating, there are plenty of credit repair agencies that will do it for you. But if you take this approach, there are three things you need to know.

First, they're not cheap. Expect to pay from $2,500 to $5,000 for an attorney or $795 to $2,000 or more for a credit repair agency. Secondly, they don't always do it right! Some will manage to get the negative data on your credit report removed while actually doing damage to your "credit score" (a calculated number used by creditors to evaluate you credit worthiness.) Finally, many are outright scams!

That's not to say you shouldn't hire third party help. If you do your "home work," ask for references, and carefully select a reputable credit repair agency, you'll be much better off than if you had done nothing. Still, if you're willing to do a little work, there's a much better alternative.

2. Repair you own credit report.

Anyone can fix their own credit report. If you can write a few letters, address, stamp, and mail them you can repair your own credit. There're plenty of good books available that can walk you thought the whole procedure, and once you're done a little study, you'll be surprised at how simple the process is.

Bad credit will cost you many thousands of dollars and limitless anxiety. Even if you have fair credit, fixing you credit could still save you thousands in interest payments over the years.

Get a good book on the topic of credit repair, and get started fixing your credit report today! And don't be intimidated by the credit bureaus. Remember, the law is on YOUR side!

Credit Reports! When You`re Not Watching Your Credit, Who Is?

This may be old news, or this may be information that has just come to light for you, but your credit and consumer habits are being monitored, and unless you take some action to obtain the necessary credit reports, you more than likely don`t know if you`re credit worthy or not!

Requesting your credit report does one of two things; first it keeps you on top of what`s being reported about you and your financial habits. If you have missed previous monthly payments, have creditors and financial lenders hounding you for their funds, or you have the annoying collectors calling you everyday, then the odds are you will have all this reported at specific bureaus, such as Equifax and Transunion, to name a few.

The second reason to check your personal report at these select bureau companies is because there is an increase in credit and identity fraud, and even though you have gone through most of your life with no problems, it only takes one occurrence where a credit thief steals your identity and/or credit information, and you then have to spend many months of painful damage control in trying to re-establish your credit rating and identity.

When I acquired my first credit score, I was amazed on how much detail was on that report. The day you sign-up for your first credit card, or sign for your first loan, your credit history is recorded on virtually every action you take. Again, many of you may already know this, but for the individuals that are new to this information, this is the time to research further, and really understand how credit bureaus create reporting information and your identity reports.

When Is The Right Time To Obtain These Reports From The Variety Of Bureaus!

Depending on whom you talk to, whether it`s your bank or any other financial institution you`re currently dealing with, most may say that you should check your personal history periodically and in some cases once a year. Even if you make your monthly payments on time, or pay off your debt in full, you would be surprised at how many times there can be a mistake or error placed on your report, and you wouldn`t even know it until you go to qualify for a personal loan, or possibly your first mortgage.

Imagine when you decide to visit your bank as a first-time homeowner, you`re ready to sit down and negotiate a really good interest rate, and your mortgage agent turns to you and says that there are credit issues on your bureau report. Not only would this be a shock to you, but also it would probably make you feel really embarrassed finding this out through your financial institution.

You can avoid that embarrassment as you check bureaus regularly and have them provide you a written personal report on you to check for any inaccuracies. If you know that you have a less than accurate history, then these credit reports will give you a guideline where you can start to repair the damage that`s already done, and this way you can give your bank the head`s up and give yourself better negotiation leverage.

Now if you`re thinking that you don`t need to check for errors or discrepancies, because you don`t ever plan on getting a loan or mortgage in the future, then you should consider the other side of contacting Equifax and Transunion to obtain information to make sure you`re protected from credit theft.

This would apply to everyone, however, for individuals that do purchases in a variety of avenues including over the Internet, I would recommend that you verify and check frequently to make sure no one has obtained your identity. I know you may say that this could never happen to you, but if it did, wouldn`t you feel better that you caught it quickly to avoid major damage to your reputation and good credit that took you so many years to establish. In a matter of days, you can have your excellent rating damaged due to some thief that is currently using your identity!

I Would Like To Get My Hands On My Report History, How Can I Do This?

If you`re currently searching ways to obtain your report`s score, you can easily get a free credit bureau copy by either contacting the online bureaus, or checking locally to see if you have agencies that will do this service for free.

You should not have to pay money for your reports, and when you contact the bureaus directly, they will instruct you on what information is required to have your free reports sent to you in the mail. However, there are services online and in your local area that provide reporting and identity protection services, but I will go into more detail on those types of services in another article. In conclusion, if you`re so new at obtaining this necessary information, or you just don`t have the time, a paid service may be an option for you to consider, and we can touch on these topics another time.