Since September 1, 2005, every resident of the United States and all U.S
Territories have been eligible to obtain a free credit report, one from each of
the three major credit-reporting agencies, and will continue to be eligible at
the same rate each year due to sweeping changes in the law. Equifax, Experian,
and TransUnion all must provide upon request via website, phone, or through the
US postal
service mail, a credit disclosure, commonly referred to as a credit report. You
can request them all at the same time, or over a period of twelve months. Depending
on when you order the free report from each one will determine when you are
again eligible the following year from that same agency.
The Law
Be prepared to answer personal identifying information to ensure that the
person receiving the report is the one requesting it, as one of the reasons for
the change being the increase in identity theft nationwide. Until this change
in the law, you were generally entitled to a free report only if you were
denied credit or were challenging an error in a previous report that you had
paid to receive. By providing free reports each year, consumers can now keep
track of any discrepancies that may exist, and can see not only those companies
that they have requested credit from, but also all those companies that have
requested information about them.
Credit Scores
Under this free program, credit scores are not included, but may be
purchased at the same time for a small fee depending on which agency you are
requesting it from. A credit score is an acronym that companies have come up
with to use in determining quickly if a potential customer meets their
qualifications for the extension of credit. While purchasing this score from
the three main companies listed above is a personal choice, third party
companies that offer this same service often charge more and are usually trying
to sell you another product or service at the same time. Be alert to what it is
you are really paying for, even if the credit score is being listed as a free
service.