Consumers can now get free credit reports by phone or on line. As identity theft has become a greater issue steps have been taken to help people monitor their credit history. Congress pasted a law that allows consumers to get one free copy of their credit histories annually from the nation's three major credit reporting bureaus-Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The goal of the legislation is to allow consumers to check each of the three credit reporting companies and review information about their credit history. If there are errors then the consumer can work with the credit reporting company to fix the error.
Consumers can order all three reports at once or spread out their requests over a year by logging on to www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 877.322.8228. The reports include information about consumers' credit accounts and loans as well as payment histories.
The process on the internet is quick and straight forward. I selected the Equifax site to check my credit history. I was able to log on and get a report within 5 minutes. Each individual has to answer several questions from their current credit history to ensure they are actually who they say they are. I was asked to select from a group of 6 lenders the one I recently received a mortgage from. Additionally, I was asked to select the monthly payment for that loan from a range of amounts. The process is thorough and interesting. All my loans and credit cards for at least the past 10 years were listed. For each month of the loan or credit card there was a color coded reference to whether the item was paid on time or how far in arrears it was.
Consumers need to monitor their credit and credit reports. It helps determine whether you can get a loan and the interest rate you pay. Utilities and other service providers will also check credit reports to determine the amount of risk they have when providing a service. This can affect the ability to get the service and the down payment that may be required.
It is important to know that the FICO score that most lenders use when qualifying for a loan is not provided for free. To get your FICO score you have to pay $6.95 on the Equifax site. The FICO score is not needed unless a consumer is getting a loan and then it is usually provided by the loan company.
