Even though checking your own credit report has no effect on your credit rating, viewing your credit history is one of the best things you can do to improve your creditworthiness. Consumers who pulled their credit report scored 9 percent higher on a financial literacy quiz, according to a 2011 Consumer Federation of America study. Ideally, you should view your report as often as possible.
Identification
Because a personal credit check does not affect your credit rating, you should view your credit report every day. For practical reasons and cost, you do not need to view your report daily. Instead, you should view your credit report each month and before someone pulls your report, such as when you plan to apply for credit, an apartment or look for a job.
Free Reports
At a bare minimum, you should check your credit report once a year. You receive one report each year from the three major credit reporting bureaus for free -- this does not include a numerical credit rating. The only way to get your reports for free are from Annual Credit Report. All other sites may try to charge you for a report or ask for your credit card information.
Rejection for Credit
If you apply for credit and a lender rejects your application for credit reasons, it must inform you of this adverse action and offer a free credit report from the agency from which it pulled your report. You should review your credit history after any adverse action by a lender, because it likely means you have negative items in your credit history or an insufficient credit history.
Tip
Credit monitoring services let you view your credit history as many times as you want for a flat monthly fee. This can save you money in the long run if you like to check your credit history multiple times a month. If you do not want to spend on credit reports, you can spread your reports through the year by pulling one report from an agency every four months.
0 comments:
Post a Comment