Your annual credit report
There are many reasons why you’d want to check your credit score. The first is obviously to make sure someone else isn’t using your credit. Identity theft is prevalent in the wired world - you want to make sure you aren’t a victim so that you can use your credit without someone elses charges on top of your own. Also, you need to know more about your finances than a mortgage broker or an auto dealership’s financial department while you’re shopping for that new car.
Anytime you are denied credit you are sent a letter in the mail stating the reasons why you are denied and then saying very specifically in the letter that you are entitled to a free credit report by that agency. So the moral of this story is that you should read your mail past the “We’re sorry to inform you that….” You are entitled under US law to a free report within 60 days of a company taking adverse action against you, like being denied credit, insurance or employment. Also, you are entitled to one report a year if you’re unemployed and looking for a job or if you’re on welfare.
Annually you are allowed on free credit report using the FTC service at annualcreditreport.com. If you don’t have internet access (we’ll leave it to you, fair audience, to figure out how those folks are reading this site) - you can fill out the Annual Credit Report Request form and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You can also buy additional copies of your report at the 3 major credit bureaus:
Equifax - Ph: 800-685-1111 or on the web at Equifax.com
Experian - Ph: 888-397-3742 or web at Experian.com
Trans Union - Ph: 800-916-8800 or their website at Transunion.com
If you’re in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersy and Vermont, you already have free access to your credit report.
You may be wondering whether you need all 3, the answer is absolutely. Not every debtor reports to all 3 bureaus. From my point of view, Transunion is rarely used for calculation or reporting. Experian is ranked second and Equifax is the most popular.
So in short, you need to check your credit score at least annually. Be informed and protect yourself from identity theft.