Free Credit Reports & Ratings

Credit bureaus hold a wealth of information about you, as well as factors that indicate your level of financial responsibility. Gaining access to this information to verify its accuracy used to be difficult unless you application for credit was turned down. In 2003, however, amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act made changes to disclosure laws, giving you free annual access to most of the information credit bureaus maintain, as well as a process for disputing incorrect entries on your report.

Identification

Your free credit report is a disclosure copy that includes all the information a third party, such as a lender or credit card company, sees when looking at your file, including credit inquiries by other lenders or companies. In addition, your report contains information third parties do not see, such as credit pre-approval inquiries, account reviews and medical account information. However, your free credit report does not include a copy of your credit rating, also called your credit score. Each of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, TransUnion and Experian -- includes information with your free credit report on the procedure for purchasing your credit score.

About Your Credit Rating

Although not part of your free credit report, your credit rating is another important piece of information. Your rating or score is a three-digit number that is similar to a grade on a report card. Because each reporting agency uses a different mathematical formula to calculate this credit score and because the agencies may receive slightly different information from creditors, the credit score is rarely the same for all three agencies. Your lender uses this number, sometimes without even reviewing the information in your file, to assess the level of risk your file poses. Because the information in your credit report and your credit rating have a close connection, it may be helpful to purchase your credit score, at least once, to note this connection, as well as how your credit information influences your score.

The Facts

Although each major reporting agency must, by law, provide a free copy of your report once every 12 months, unless you make your request through AnnualCreditReport.com, you will incur a charge. Marketing programs for these and other companies may offer a free credit report, sometimes also including your credit rating, but these typically involve enrolling in a fee-based credit monitoring service. If you suspect fraud or believe the company is attempting to swindle you, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends contacting the FTC via email at spam@ecr.org.

Tips

Once you obtain a copy of your free credit report, review each one to make sure the information it contains is correct. The FTC outlines a process to follow if you want to dispute any of your credit file information. Each reporting agency, by law, must respond to and investigate every item you include in your dispute.