Free annual credit report saves time and embarassment
February 7, 2010 11:08 am BusinessWhen considering applying for a loan, especially in today’s tight credit market, it is wise to do one’s homework, get one’s house in order and apply damage control as necessary before proceeding further. To help with the process, the so-called “big three” national credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – will provide you with a Free annual credit report once every twelve months, upon request. These agencies are required to do this by the federal government, so there is no need to be shy about asking. For these companies it’s all part of business as usual.
When you receive your Free annual credit report from each agency, go through them carefully and seek help in understanding them if you need to. There are sites on the Internet that can assist with this. You will be looking for any erroneous or incomplete negative information, and don’t be too surprised if you find some. It happens all the time. Agencies have no way of verifying credit information reported to them; that is the responsibility of the borrower. Debts that were eventually paid may have been reported as unpaid and the information never updated by the creditor. Liens that have been satisfied may still be recorded as outstanding. Simple human error can occur when making the entries. This list of reasons for inaccuracies goes on and on.
Again, it is up to you and no one else to investigate and dispute inaccurate information that has a negative effect on your credit rating. This why you can request a Free annual credit report. Often, a lender who pulls a faulty credit report must assume that negative information is true unless the borrower has proof to the contrary. If this happens and you are unpleasantly surprised during the lending process, your banker will know at the very least that you are either unskilled enough of didn’t care enough to straighten things out before wasting his or her time.
So, waste no time in requesting a Free annual credit report from each of the “big three” companies. Compare them side by side. It is not unusual for information to be present on one and not on the next. Expect all three scores to be different, as each agency has its own way of doing things. Your actual credit rating will be an aggregated average of the three. Remember, help and more information are available on the Internet.
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