Matt Triplett asked:




You can’t fix a problem until you know what it is right. A majority of all Americans have never ordered their own report and half of those have never seen their own report. The scary part about that is according to studies 79% of all credit reports have errors and 25% of those errors are severe enough to deny you credit. So even though you pay all your bills on time every time, there still could be something on your report that isn’t even yours. Even if you have never been denied credit, these errors could be causing you a higher interest rate.

There are 3 major credit reporting agencies in the United States.

Experian Equifax Trans Union

Creditors submit your payment history to 1, 2, or all 3 bureaus each month. So depending on which creditors are reporting to which bureau, you should have 3 different scores. You can usually get a 3-in-1 credit report that shows all 3 bureaus along with an average score from all 3.

There are several ways to get a copy of your credit report. Order each one directly from the bureaus websites. If you have been denied credit recently you are entitled to a free credit report, that you can order from the bureau directly. If you have applied for credit recently from a local creditor, they can give you a copy if they have ordered it. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com This is a government run website that will give you a free report from each credit bureau each year. Order a 30-day free trial of credit monitoring and get a free copy of your reports with it. Just make sure you cancel with in 30 days or you will be charged for the monitoring.

Some reports are harder to read than others. Usually a 3-in-1 credit report from a monitoring service is more user friendly and better laid out. Now you need to review all the information on your report and make sure it is accurate. This includes all the personal information, inquiries, accounts, former names, former addresses, employment, and so on. Having an accurate report is the best way to assure you a fair judgment on your payment histories.

Adam

Adam Tijerina asked:




As you should be well aware by now you can get your free credit reports every year from the government’s own annual credit report site, but the major credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax, and Transunion are not required to provide their credit scores free so if you want them in many cases you have to pay for them. Learn how you can get all 3 scores free.

You have no doubt seen some of the free credit score commercials on TV that have those catchy jingles. But those offers are for only one of your scores. A potential lender for a new car, home or credit card may not look at that credit score. They may pull a different one from one of the other major credit bureaus.

The only way to know your total financial picture is to get all 3 scores. In seconds you can see how well you are doing and where you stand on the credit score range. The way to get your scores absolutely free and save at least $45 is through a service called Identity Guard. It is one of the top credit monitoring services online and can help protect your identity with up to $1,000,000 worth of identity theft protection insurance. It has a better free trial offer with all 3 scores and a longer trial period at 30 days compared to the short 7 day trial period for those TV offers.

You can get your 3 free credit scores and then decide if you want to keep the credit monitoring or not. This is the best offer to get your complete credit profile without spending any money. And you don’t have to sift through dozens of pages of your credit reports to try and figure out how well you are doing.

Eileen

April S asked:


…paying $50. Does anyone know how I can get my FICO score from each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies either for free or for less than $50?

FYI: I know all about getting my credit report, so I don’t need help with that.

Teresa