Your credit report is one of the major factors in helping lenders determine whether to offer you credit. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to view a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once per year. You are not charged or penalized for these annual credit reports.
Get Free Reports
The federal government only authorizes one website to provide you with a free credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion each year. Visit the Annual Credit Report website and fill in your identifying information to be directed to the credit bureaus to get your free credit reports. After viewing each credit report, return to the Annual Credit Report website and click on the link for your next credit report. If you would like, you can check your three credit reports at different times of the year instead of all at once.
Importance
Getting a free credit report can help your credit in a few ways. First, when you see your report, you get a better idea of what sort of information can affect your credit score. This includes not only your payment history, but also the account balance on each credit statement and how long you have had each account. Second, viewing your credit report allows you to look for accounts fraudulently opened in your name by identity thieves. Finally, you can also look for errors that your creditors have made in reporting account information. If you find mistakes on your credit report, dispute them so they do not affect your credit score.
Effects
Checking your own credit report does not affect your credit score at all. Although your credit report keeps a list of companies that pull your credit report, only some of these credit inquiries hurt your score. A credit inquiry hurts your score if it is from a company checking your report because you applied for some type of credit, including a credit card, loan or line of credit.
Warning
You do not need to enter your credit card number or any other financial information to get your free credit report. Although some websites claim to offer free credit reports or credit scores, they often require you to sign up for a free trial of a paid service and enter your billing information. If you do not cancel your free trial, you can be charged for the service. Avoid this risk by only getting your free credit report through the Annual Credit Report website.
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