Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Since we're
talking about credit scores, because we're about to,
this is your gentle reminder to check yours to see if it needs some improving.
There are really only two ways to see your credit report for free.
The first is to get denied for credit somewhere.
By law, any creditor that denies you credit
has to show you the report they pulled. We don't recommend this route if you can
help it.
The second, and perhaps easier way is to log on to www dot
annual credit report dot com. This is the
only free site on the internet to get a credit report from
each of the three credit reporting agencies:
Equifax, Transunion and Experian. There are many sites online,
some with very creative jingles advertising on television.
Be aware that these are not free sites. You'll pay a pretty penny for
your report
and score. Some of them may offer you a free report,
but then deceptively role you into a monthly fee.
You need to cancel this. With annual credit report dot com,
you'll get a report from each of the three bureaus for free once per year,
but you won't get a score. If you want your score in addition,
that will cost you around five dollars. Once you get your credit report,
look through it to see if there's anything reporting in error. It is
your right
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act that anything showing up incorrectly on
your report
must be corrected or removed within 30 days.
And it's estimated that nearly ninety percent
of all reports have some errors contained within.
Like maybe that Abercrombie card you opened is reporting a late payment.
Abercrombie? Really? These reports can be tricky buggers to decipher.
If you need help reading it or getting any questions
about your report answered, come see us at the branch.
We are credit report ninjas!
If you're wanting to further educate yourself on credit scores,
click one of these videos or if you're interested in other financial literacy
content,
please visit our YouTube channel.