These days information about obtaining credit reports is readily available to everyone and all to often it is misleading information, especially in the world of the Internet. Unfortunately, some of this misinformation comes from credit reporting agencies, companies that make money by providing credit analysis. Plenty of other independent companies will also do it for you if you are willing to pay the fee.
None of these services are really required for American citizens and residents. Two laws, enacted by the federal government and therefore applicable throughout the U.S., provide individuals with the right to receive their own credit reports free of charge under particular circumstances.
The first of these laws is the Federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACTA) Act of 2003. This law mandates that the every U.S. person is allowed one free copy of their credit report from each of the three leading credit reporting agencies once every twelve months. This law also mandated the creation of the AnnualCreditReport.com website that serves as the only official website where your free credit reports can be obtained. You may also receive these free credit reports via phone or mail request.
The second law passed is the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA. The law was passed in 1970 but has gone through several changes and amendments before reaching its current standing. This law outlines several other reasons for obtaining your credit report and require that it is available to you for free under these circum stances: If you believe your report includes fraudulent information, if you are unemployed or on public assistance, and if your credit score has kept you out of housing you can request a free copy of your credit report. Also you can request a copy if you have been denied credit or employment or any benefits from the government because of your credit score.
Between these two options, there is virtually no need to purchase a report. However, your credit score is not necessarily included and even if a score is provided, this may not be your FICO score, but the result of some other scoring scheme. In general, to obtain your scores, you may have to provide a small fee.
Although most businesses offering to obtain your credit report are scams meant to take advantage of people unaware of their rights, some credit monitoring services may be useful. These usually monitor your credit report and score on a monthly or quarterly basis, alerting you of changes and problems as well as recommending measure to help improve your score.
Some people do not have a need for these types of services, however when you are planning to apply for major loans in the future it pays to think ahead in terms of how your credit report looks. If you are trying to repair your credit a credit monitoring service can be a big help.
Wendy Polisi is the founder of CreditRepairCollege and Finance the Dream. Finance the Dream is the nations leading provider of
lease options,offering homes in all 50 states. For more information on
credit repair please visit her at CreditRepairCollege.
