How do I get a credit report?

Question

How do I get a credit report?

Answer 1

If you're in the US, you can obtain one from each of the three major US credit bureaus every year, through https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/i... . You can also request one if declined for credit -- the letter sent with the official decline and reason will give more information.  If you have already gotten your freebies for the year, you can order another at extra cost directly through the big three's own websites, www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com and www.experian.com.

Answer 2

www.annualcreditreport.com  Will give you all three credit reports for free.  However, it will not include your credit score.  There will be options to pay a fee to obtain your credit score, on this site.

Answer 3

If you live in the US, you are entitled to 1 free report from each agency every year. Follow the source link to get access to your reports. 1 agency will give you instant access online and the other 2 will mail them out.

You can then review the information and if you're interested submit your disputes to each credit reporting agency. Remember even if the item is duplicated on every report, you have to submit separate disputes to each agency. I have noticed that the online dispute process did not work for me. To get a quick and sure response, the best thing is to do it in writing. Send it out certified mail if you can with a return receipt so that you can track the mail and delivery date. Keep copies of all of your disputes.

You can also sign up for a credit monitoring service while you are going through the dispute process or if you just need to monitor your credit score. By subscribing to one of these services you will have access to one or more of your reports at anytime, or you can elect to purchase one or more of your reports again, after you have received your free copy.  Remember you get 1 free copy of each report per calendar year, unless you are denied credit, then you get a courtesy copy from the credit agency that the company used to obtain your credit history.  I added some monitoring service companies to the source link as well as a link to a simple dispute letter.  

I also included a link to the FTC website for more info about free credit reports and the dispute process, as well as a great Credit 101 resource website at about.com.  Check out all of the reference tabs at the top, there is a lot of great info there.

I know I gave more than what you asked for, but hopefully it will all be useful. Peace. ~J~