Stand up for your
rights! Did you know that you are entitled to get a FREE
credit report? This is important because whether you like
it or not credit plays a BIG part in your everyday life.
There are a lot of arguments for and against credit scoring
and how it can positively or negatively impact you, but
the reality is if you ever hope to get a house loan, car
loan, insurance and even job interviews are all strongly
based on what your credit score is. Bottom line is this:
We live in a credit score society. That is why it is so
important to monitor your credit and a vital step is getting
your free credit report and score.
Why You Really Should Monitor Your Credit
Most people will say that money is not everything, and this
is the truth. But it does rank right up there with oxygen...your
life is a whole lot better when you have it! And credit
allows you to leverage money which is very important. Here's
what you need to do to get your free credit report and score.
Due to the fair credit-reporting act you are allowed and
entitled to get one free credit report each and every calendar
year.
Free Report Because Of The Government? Okay, What's
The Catch?
You are right. There is a catch. Here it is. You must ask
for it. The good news is you get the report.But the BAD
news is it may or may not include the credit score itself.
In other words, you will get what is reporting on your credit,
but you may not get the score. If you desire the actual
three digit number that rules your financial life, in other
words, your credit score, then you will have to work for
it.
First places to go is the credit repositories...that's a
fancy name for the people who keep all the information about
you and tells everyone. They are called, Equifax, Experian,
or Trans Union. You can visit their homepages for information
on how to get their respective reports and many times they
will even give you some advice on what to do and how to
obtain your desired information.
Another thing you could do to get your free credit report
and score is a way that you want to be careful about, but
it has some good points to it. Here's what we're talking
about. You can get a free credit report and score by entering
into an arrangement with a credit reporting company. The
company offers your scores, but they will try to get you
to agree to a monthly fee to monitor and send your scores
on a quarterly or even a monthly basis. So the good part
is you stay on top of your score on a regular basis which
can be very valuable with all of the ID theft as well as
due to the fact that the credit reporting agencies are notorious
for reporting inaccurate and false information.
The credit monitoring is growing in popularity with the
recognition of the vital importance of the almost mystical
three numbers known as your credit score. But the first
step is to get your free credit report and score annually
and make sure that what is on the report is accurate. If
you discover errors you will need to take fast action because
it can cost you loads of money if a financial decision is
made based upon the inaccurate information. And another
challenge is the credit reporting agencies do not necessarily
move fast in getting things corrected.
So in summary, you can get a free credit report annually
as well as you are entitled to a copy of your credit report
if you are declined for either a loan or a job or even for
any other financial services related decision that was made
due to the information on your credit report. You simply
request in writing from whoever declined you and they must
tell you what credit agency provided the information that
they based their declination on and then you can contact
that agency and get your report. Knowing your rights will
puts you on the right path to a bright financial future
and a good credit report.
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