Credit Reports May Get You A Pre-Approval
Any time you get a ?pre-approval? offer for a credit card in the mail, some company has been judging your financial responsibility by looking at your credit report. Anytime you hope to get a loan for a house, car, or large expense, the bank or lending institution decides whether or not to give you a loan?and at what rate of interest?by looking at your credit report.
Don?t let misinformation sway the decision of lenders or credit card companies! Keep track of your credit reports! There are three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You are eligible to receive one free credit report from each of the three credit reports unions once every twelve months.
You may view your credit reports from all three of these credit unions at the same time to compare any possible transgressions between them, but you may be best served to wait and request credit reports from one of the three credit unions every four months to keep an eye on your credit report more frequently.
If you wait a full year to view your three free credit reports, you may miss the chance to catch a mistake on your credit report until it?s too late to inform the credit bureau, damaging your credit score irrevocably. By spreading out your three free annual credit reports across the duration of the year, you will play a more active role in monitoring and verifying your credit report.
Some states also allow you to receive additional free credit reports. Check with your state government for an additional credit report if you live in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, or Vermont.
You also may purchase a copy of your credit score along with your free credit report if you so desire. Your credit score is the number between 350 and 850 determined by your credit report that decides your eligibility for loans and credit cards. It also affects your offered interest rate. The higher the credit score you have, the lower the interest rate and the more eligible you are for loans and credit cards.
Your credit report directly influences your credit score. Be sure to double check your three free credit reports against your bills and accounts. Be sure that your loans and credit cards accurately reflect the date opened, the credit limit, and whether you have paid on time or not for any given month. If any of your credit reports show an account that you never opened, report the error to the appropriate credit union immediately.
For your free copy of your credit report and a chance to purchase a copy of your credit score, visit annualcreditreport.com. Sites such as freecreditreport.com and freecreditreportinstantly.com claim that you can have a free copy of your credit report through their Web site, but that usually involves applying for one of their services, at a cost. Annualcreditreport.com is the official and completely free starting point to your three annual credit reports.
Although annualcreditreport.com is a safe way to view your three annual credit reports, you may request your credit reports by phone or mail if you don?t have frequent access to the Internet or you would feel more comfortable not inputting your personal information online. Call 1-877-322-8228 or print out the request form at annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf and follow the mail-in directions.
Monitoring your credit report can help you avoid credit score fraud and disaster. Request a copy of your credit report once every four months! For a list of articles and links about credit reports and credit scores, visit creditreports.com.
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.creidt-reports-now.com 2 Creidtreportsnowcom
