Wow, I got busy and somehow a whole year has gone by since I last checked on my credit reports. I don’t recommend that. Check yours every 4 months. Hopefully I can get back into the routine. Soon I will be writing about something new and exciting from the credit reporting agencies that should eliminate almost all identity theft if done correctly. It is called Credit Freezes. It isn’t free but it will be well worth it. I’ll keep you informed once I get some free time.
So for those that don’t know, you are entitled by law to a copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus once per year. It is a good idea to spread these out and request one report every 4 months. This lets you keep an eye on your credit report throughout the year and makes it more likely that you will quickly notice any inaccuracies or problems with the report.
I just retrieved my credit report from Experian and as I would expect, all is well. Another 4 months (January 2009) and I’ll check with Equifax.
To request your free credit report go to: AnnualCreditReport.com
The credit report is free, but the credit bureaus try and convince you to pay for additional services (credit score, credit monitoring, etc). So be sure to say No to any of these items if you want a truly free credit report.
Now go ahead and pull yours and make sure everything looks ok. Especially with the crazy market conditions we are in, you are going to need some pristine credit going forward, so time to get any incorrect information fixed if you see it.
Here is a link to the Federal Trade Commission’s site regarding your free annual credit report: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/psa.html
Oh, and remember, even though those commercials on TV with the guys in the band singing songs about how they are in dire situations due to poor credit (singing in a fish restaurant, a basement apartment, etc) are awesomely funny, the site they are representing is not for the free credit report. It is for a pay service. Don’t go to their site. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only free site.