FREE Equifax, Experian, TransUnion Credit Report

Because of recent laws passed by the Federal Trade Commission, all major credit reporting agencies in the United States, including Equifax, TransUnion, Experian (formerly TRW), are required to provide consumers (that's you!) with a totally free copy of their credit reports, if requested, up to once every 12 months. This means that you can acquire a 100% free credit report from any of these three major credit reporting companies once every year. It has never been easier or cheaper to stay on top of your credit report and score than today.

Everyone should check their credit report! It's FREE

There really is no good reason why you shouldn't check your credit report, at least once a year. Knowing what is in your credit report and your credit score can save you time and money when shopping for a loan or lease. Also, it is an excellent idea to frequently check your credit report for errors, out of date information, fraud, or identity theft. All of these wrongful entries can negatively effect your over all credit score, tarnishing your reputation and relationships with banks and lenders.

All three of the major credit reporting agencies can be contacted for a free annual credit report by going to their official website: http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. They may also be contacted individually, online or by regular postal mail; however, be aware that when going to one of their individual websites ( www.experian.com, www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com ) they will require you to also sign up for an account and other services to receive your credit report. So your best bet is to not deal with them through their commercial sites, and instead use the www.annualcreditreport.com site.

How Do I Get a Free Online Credit Check?

How to get a Free Online Credit Check

Knowing your credit score can save you from the embarrassment of being declined for that loan, car lease, or mortgage, as well save you thousands of dollars. So how do you find out your credit score for free? Read on to find out!

What Exactly is a Credit Report?


A credit report consists of a detailed list of your credit history maintained by one of three main US credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can imagine it as a report card that holds information on all of your current and past financial activities. When you apply for a loan, the lender requests your credit report from one or all of these agencies and uses it to help determine whether or not to approve your loan. All of the factors in your credit report are used to calculate what is know as your "credit score" which is between 300 and 850, the higher it is the better.

Why Should I Check My Credit Score?


Checking you credit report might seem like a difficult and expensive task to carry out, and in the past it usually was, but with recent advances in modern technology, namely the internet, checking your credit score online is simple and FREE! The Federal Trade Commission requires all of the major national credit reporting companies to provide consumers (that's you!) with a totally free copy of their credit report if requested, up to once every 12 months.

Now that you know that facts about obtaining your free online credit check, here are a few of the reasons why you should take advantage of this opportunity:

1. Help Prevent Identity Theft and Fraud.


Identity theft occurs when a criminal uses your personal information, such as your credit card number or Social Security number, to carry out fraudulent activities. When you obtain your credit report you are able to check over your credit history and make sure that no one has negatively affected your credit score through identity theft. If you do happen to find any fraudulent activities or inaccurate information on your report, you can contact the credit report agency or credit card company involved, and have them correct this inaccurate information.

2. Avoid Embarrassing Credit Surprises.


Which way would you rather find out you have less than perfect credit; when the bank or car dealer tells you so in their office, possibly in front of your friends or family, or when you request a credit report in the privacy of your own home? Knowing your credit score is the best way to avoid being put into an uncomfortable or down right embarrassing situation. Not to mention it can save you bundles of time. Knowing your credit score, and what is on your credit report, will help you make more informed decisions in a vast array of financial situations.

3. Correct Inaccurate Information.


It has been reported that approximately 1 in 4 credit reports contain serious errors, many bad enough to impact the consumer's eligibility to obtain a loan. Credit reporting agencies have very sophisticated and precise credit reporting protocols, but nothing is 100% foolproof and mistakes do happen. Sometimes outdated information will remain on your credit report longer than it is supposed to, negativity impacting your overall credit score. Obtaining a free online credit check is a great way to make sure your information is correct and up to date, before applying for a loan or new credit card.

How Do I Get a Free Online Credit Check?

The Importance of the FICO Score

What is a FICO score and why is it so important? For those in the credit industry, knowing what a FICO score is can help a lot in maintaining a healthy lending business. That is because the FICO score is being used in order to assess a person's credit worthiness. Lending money to people is always a risky endeavor. Lenders always have the fear of never ever getting back the money that they have loaned. And because it is a business, lending institutions can only make a profit if borrowers actually make the payments on the money that they loaned. For them, it is very important to know about an individual's borrowing as well as debt payment behavior before they can ever decide on handing out the money in the form of a loan or other types of credit.

Creditworthiness of an individual is something that lending institutions really want to know before they ever want to decide of loaning any amount of money. And the best way to do that is by knowing the FICO score and what it represents in terms of an individual's credit behavior and pattern. And just what is a FICO score? It is simply a way of being able to measure an individual's creditworthiness without requiring the lending institutions access to an individual's income history or employment status and, in a way, being able to maintain a person's privacy in some way.

What is a FICO score and how did it come to be? It was originally developed by the Fair Isaac Company in order to help the credit industry assess individuals applying for credit. The FICO score is calculated taking into consideration certain factors that determine one's credit behavior. Such factors included in calculating for the FICO score include one's credit history, current credit owed, the length of the credit history, recent loans applied for as well as the various types of credit each individual has obtained. The FICO score is now widely used by major credit reporting agencies in providing lending institutions with a credit report on individuals applying for a loan, getting a mortgage or trying to get approved for a credit card. Credit card providers and banks also use the FICO score in order to determine credit limits and the setting of interest rates.

Before an individual's FICO score can be calculated, he or she must at least have one credit account open and active for a minimum of six months. This is the bare minimum of information that is needed for calculating an individual's FICO score, although it would still be a long way from being considered credit worthy. Most lenders prefer to see an individual having minimum of three or four credit accounts that have been maintained for at least 12 months. This is what banks look for in providing large lines of credit and mortgages to its clients.

What is a FICO score in terms of your credit worthiness? A FICO score is rated at scale from 300 to 850. The accepted median for the FICO score is around 720. FICO scores that are 725 and above are considered good scores while those found below 600 are considered bad. Making sure that one keeps his or her FICO score high would ensure that lenders would approve of credit or loans being applied for.