Your Free Credit Report How to Get a Copy of Your Credit Report Without Paying a Dime
With a free credit report, you are able to effectively monitor your credit as well as stay on top of anything that resembles identity fraud.
Needless to say, it's a good idea to view your credit report once a year.
There's no need to pay a dime--you're entitled to your credit report free of charge.
Follow these steps to get your credit report for absolutely free.
To begin, you will need to make a request for your report. Each of the national consumer reporting agencies is required under the provisions
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to give you a free copy of your credit report one time every year, upon request.
You can make a credit report request in the following 3 ways:
• Online – You may make a credit report request over the internet and see it immediately on the websites of the
3 credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and their sister company AnnualCreditReport.com.
To do this, you will be required to answer 5 basic questions concerning your financial information and past addresses in
order to verify your identity and have your report available to you.
• Phone – Call 1-877-322-8228 to ask for your credit report to be sent to you by mail, by all 3 credit reporting agencies.
After a basic verification by phone, your request will be accepted and your report should be sent to you within 2-3 weeks after your request.
• Mail – Fill out the Annual Credit Report Request Form to have your report sent to you via mail.
Thereafter, mail the form to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Then, you should be able to receive a copy of your report within 2-3 weeks of making your request.
Re-Order a Credit Report:
In the event that you have already received your free credit report as per the 2003 amendment of the FCRA, you may still qualify for a second free credit report. This is because, under the FCRA, there are specific situations that allow consumers to be entitled to a free report, in spite of when they received
the last credit report free of charge.
These include:
• Your application for credit, employment or insurance was denied due to information contained
in your credit report. In this instance, the bank, employer or insurer will issue you an alert including the contact
information for the reporting company that provided them with the report they used. You will then have only 60 days from when you learned
about the denial to contact the agency and request for a copy of your credit report.
• Being unemployed, you plan to begin job hunting within the next 60 days.
• You are receiving welfare assistance from the government.
• You’ve fallen victim to fraudulent identity theft that you believe is as a result of the presence of inaccurate information in your credit report.
• The state laws entitle you to receive an extra credit report annually, free of charge.
• Individuals entitled to another free credit report for any of the above reasons will need to make a
request for it from each of the three reporting agencies. For your protection, you will need to verify
your identity by providing the reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - with copies of certain identification documents.
Follow these easy steps and you’ll be able to get a free copy of your credit report easily.
