Home > Identity Theft > Fearing Identity Theft? Get A Free Credit Report Quick!
Fearing Identity Theft? Get A Free Credit Report Quick! |
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Consumers are often promised a free credit report that are nothing but a front for signing them up for a credit monitoring service that they might not actually need. This would lead them to be paying for disputing negative items in the free credit report that are accurate. The consumers would be made to pay their hard earned money for something that was not at all necessary. As such, you must make sure that you understand all the aspects of what you are signing. You can get your credit report free of cost Usually you have to pay to view your credit report and everyone is advised to view the report at least once a year. However, the three major credit bureaus--Equifax, Experian and TransUnion--are making some changes and integrating a new plan for handing out credit reports. Now it will be possible to actually view your free credit report without any charge, so long as you live in one of the 13 Western states. Per the provisions of a recent amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), each of the three major credit-reporting agencies is required to provide a free credit report to any consumer who wants a credit report copy, every 12 months. Even if you live in another region, don't despair, as all the other regions of the country will be brought under the purview of the above law by September 2005, when everyone will have access to a free credit report viewing every year. Get your free credit report only from the three major credit bureaus to protect yourself. You should only trust the three major credit bureaus with all your personal information. If you give your personal information including your Social Security Number to other unscrupulous agencies, your information could be misused by them for their own illicit ends. They could commit identity theft or other scams, which would be detrimental to your interests. As such you should only trust the three major credit bureaus. It is safer and more reliable if you get your free credit report from any of the three major credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and Transunion, as they track a consumer's history of bill-paying, types of accounts opened under a consumer's name, late payments and the size of the credit accounts opened. A number is then generated that is known as a FICO score by using a complex mathematical formula. This number ranges from 300 to 850 and most consumers have a credit score between 600 and 700. Before deciding on giving a loan, the lenders normally use this number to assess the borrower's creditworthiness. The higher the number, the more trustworthy is the borrower and the more likely a lender is to offer a loan to the customer. Your free credit report could have incorrect information or some fraudulent activity could be taking place and as such it is necessary to check your credit report regularly. Incorrect information could arise due to wrong transcription of social security or account numbers or the wrong spelling of a name. Fraudulent activity could be taking place due to identity theft, which can wreck havoc on your credit rating. If you notice any of these signs, you can take steps to report and investigate such activity. Finding out an error or fraud early can save a lot of time and energy. Apart from finding errors and frauds, viewing your credit report regularly can put you in a much better position while negotiating for a loan. If you have a high credit score, you would be eligible for lower loan rates and easier financing. If, however, your credit score is lower than what you would like it to be, you can take the help of several tools that are available to help raise the number and for that you need to have your free credit report. Lenders normally view the free credit report and then decide about granting a loan. Their decision is based on that one simple number: the credit score. |
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