How to get your free credit report

Under the new 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, all Americans have the right to a free credit report every year from all three major credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

How to get credit report
You must request your credit report on of these three ways. The reports are not automatically sent to you.


• Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/, which is the only source for consumers on-line to get their free credit report every 12 months.
• Call the toll free number 1-877-322-8228
• Complete the form on the back of the “Annual Credit Report Request” brochure, available at the FTC, and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Alanta, GA 30348-5281

You will have the ability to order all three credit reports at one time, or you may order at different times throughout the year. It is up to you. Be sure to order from the centralized agency. If you go directly to the credit bureaus you will be charged unless you fit other criteria for the credit report. Also beware of ordering your free credit reports from fraudulent, deceptive and misspelled domains that will charge for the same service you can get fro free.

This new ruling does not stop other ways to receive a free credit report. You are still entitled a free credit report if you have been: denied for a loan, insurance policy or job based on your free credit report; you are applying for unemployment or receive public assistance; or you currently reside in a state that already offers one or more annual free credit reports.

A credit report contains personal information such as your history of loan payments, including mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. A credit report is used by lenders to determine whether they will grant you credit, and at what rate. A credit report is not the same as a credit score, which takes all the credit history and spits our a three digit number for each of the major credit bureaus. Credit Scores are not included in your free credit report with annual credit report, they must be purchased. If you are interested in buying your credit scores, you can go to http://www.creditscorequick.com/, and get your real free fico scores and credit score reports today.




About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, free credit check, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , credit cards, mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance, debt consolidation ,and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness.

When should you check your Credit Report?

We all know to get a check up with the doctor once a year, and dental twice a year, but how often should you check your credit report health? Just like getting a physical at the doctor to get steps to improve your physical health, you need to do a financial check up to improve your overall credit report health. With the way matters are these days you cannot afford to not stay on top of your financial health. If you want to retire someday you definitely don’t want to be paying higher interest rates on money borrowed because you are not up to date on your credit report history or because you have mismanaged your credit health.

There is lots of advice on the internet to check your credit report once a year, but is this the correct information? This might be a good rule of thumb for someone who does not have any credit out there, or never makes any purchases. Unfortunately most people are doing all the above quite often. Here are triggers for checking your credit report with credit scores.

You have been denied for a credit card, loan, mortgage, or other credit based services.
If your credit was used in the decision process for a loan and you were denied, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. Most lenders will send you a letter in the mail listing some of the reason as to why you were denied credit.

Once you get a copy of your credit report and credit scores, review it and make sure you were not denied because of inaccurate information being reported.





You suspect your identity has been stolen
Unfortunately, identity theft is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions. Identity theft can go unnoticed for months, even years. If you discover your identity has been stolen report it to the credit bureaus immediately.

Your are preparing to make a major purchase like a home, car, credit card, or any other credit-based service
Your credit report history and credit scores are the primary factors in the loan approval process. You would be surprised as to what credit report entries would get you denied for a loan. In some cases even a $16.00 medical collection can keep you from getting your dream home.

You are planning to repair your credit or get out of debt or both
Since a credit report contains most if not all of your financial accounts, it’s the best place to start when you are focused on getting financially healthy. You can also easily use the information on your credit report to get your plan started. If you are looking to get out of debt or fix your bad credit report, there is no better place to start than your free credit score report.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, free credit check, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , credit cards, mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

Free Credit Reports with No Credit Cards

Free Credit Reports with no credit cards required was an article I wrote about a while back. I have got some feedback in regards to this article. Here are the facts about free credit reports.
There is only one type of credit report that does not require a credit card and is free once a year. The credit report can be obtained at annualcreditreport.com. All the other offers that say “FREE credit report” are only free trials. That means you get it free for so many days. The reason there is a charge at a later time is because is comes with really useful services such as credit monitoring and credit scores. Annualcreditreport does not give you your credit scores, nor do they give you credit report monitoring. So with this being said if you want a credit report with credit scores 14.95 – 29.95 is not that much money to get a piece of mind. When creditors pull your credit report they don’t go to annualcreditreport.com to see what’s in your report, especially since most creditors look at your credit scores to make a decision.






What type of credit report do you really need?
While you are surfing the web out there trying to figure it out, let us give you some suggestions. I will tell you this; credit reports with no credit scores are useless. I repeat credit reports with no credit scores are useless. The reason why is all creditors look at your credit scores to determine your risk. If you are getting ready to make a purchase or just want to know what’s on your credit report, get a 3-1 credit report with your credit scores from each credit bureau. If you don’t cancel within the trial period you will get charged for it. It would not hurt to get credit monitoring set up, so when key changes take place to your credit report you will be notified via e-mail. During this day and age you cannot afford to wait a year to get a copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com. You also need to check your credit every 60 to 90 days. Anything can happen to your personal credit report within a 30 day period. This is why annualcreditreport does not provide what you really need for FREE. A recent study was just done about identity theft and identity theft happens every 4 seconds in this country to someone. So do you think waiting a year to see your credit report with no credit scores is ok? I think you get the picture now. Make the investment in credit reports with your credit scores and monitoring. It’s like having life insurance, you have that piece of mind now to protect you and your family.






About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, free credit check, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

What’s in your FICO® Score.

FICO scores are calculated from different data within your credit report. This information is grouped into five categories. The Chart below will reflect this as well as the percentage of importance for each category.











These percentages of these categories are for the purpose of the general population. For example someone that is new to the credit scène these percentages may not apply.

Payment History

• Number of accounts paid as agreed
• Presence of negative Public Records(Judgments, bankruptcy, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc ( Collections, and/or delinquency(past due items)
• Severity of delinquency( how long past due)
• Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection accounts
• How much you’re past due on accounts or collections.
• How many collections you have
• Account payment information on particular accounts (installment loans, credit cards, retail accounts, finance company accounts, car notes, mortgage, etc…)

Length of Credit History

• Time since account activity
• Time since accounts opened
• Time since account opended, by type of account

New Credit

• Time since account was open, by credit type
• Time since credit inquiry
• Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts recently opened by account type.
• Re-establishment of credit after recent credit problems
• Number of recent credit inquiries

Amounts Owed

• Proportion of installment loans still owed, proportion of balances to original loan amount on certain installment loans
• Number of accounts with balances
• Amounts owed on specific types of accounts
• Amount owed on accounts
• Lack of specific types of credit balances
• Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limit on certain types of revolving accounts

Types of credit used

• Number of (prevalence, presence, and recent information on ( different account types such as credit cards, retail accounts, mortgage, installment loans, and consumer finance accounts.

*Please take note
Your FICO score takes into consideration of all these variables discussed.
No one piece of information or factor will determine your score alone.

The importance of any factor depends on your over all credit history.
It is really hard to single out any other factor over another, since all factors take part in the overall scoring process. What is important is the mix of information being reported within your credit report.

Your FICO score only looks at information within your credit report. However lenders look at other information outside this report to also make a credit decision.
Example:
• Work History
• Salary
• Rental History
• Kind of credit you are requesting

Your score considers both negative and positive information on your credit report. Late payments will lower your credit score, but establishing or re-establishing a good payment history will increase your FICO credit score.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, free credit check, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

Items that don’t report to your Credit Report

There are certain items that report to your credit report, and there are certain items that don’t. In this article I will discuss what actually reports to the 3 credit bureaus which end up on your 3-1 credit report. I hear all kinds of rumors out there about what is not on someone’s credit report. Here are the facts.

When you go to apply for a loan, the first thing a creditor will do is pull a copy of your personal credit report with all 3 credit bureaus. The reason for this is they want to make sure you are credit worthy. If the creditor approves you for the loan, typically 60 days later they will report the money you borrowed to the bureaus they have a contract with. Normally the contract is with TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. This is the type of information that reports to your credit report.

What reports to the credit bureaus

 Installment loans
 car loans
 credit cards
 student loans
 health fitness facilities
 Department store credit cards
 Gas credit cards
 Mortgage loans
 Line of credit with bank
 Collections
 Charge Offs
 Public records
 Judgments
 Late payments
 Inquiries
 Bankruptcies
 Your social security number
 Your address
 Date of birth
 Your legal name

What does not report to credit bureaus

 Phone bill
 Electric bill
 savings
 Your age
 Your salary
 Race
 Martial status
 College degrees
* Note- Some of these items will report to credit report if not paid.

Hopefully this will sum up some of the questions in regards to what reports to your personal credit score report. Typically the money you borrow is what reports to your credit report. If you don’t pay a bill it will also end up on your report as well. The main point though is debt you owe will be reported. So you want to make sure you are in good standing with all bills because anything not paid could end up on your credit report which will affect your credit score.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, free credit check, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

Lenders are raising the bar on Credit Scores

Your credit scores have never been more important than now. Recent turmoil in the mortgage industry has caused lenders to raise the bar on credit score requirements for different loans. The cause of this is the significant tightening up in the mortgage insurance industry. Mortgage insurance varies from state to state, but is required if you don’t put down a considerable amount of money on a loan. During the mortgage meltdown that has taken place over the last couple of years, mortgage insurance companies starting seeing enormous amounts of claims on certain loan types. These particular loans have had their bar raised on credit scores in order to even get financed since the banks cannot get certain types of borrowers and loans insured now.

Credit Score requirement for Conventional loans.

 95% Conventional loans-Minimum 620 + Credit Score.
 100% Conventional loans-now requires a 20% second lien – 720+ Credit Score
 95% Conventional stated loans-requires a 720 + Credit Score

*Some credit score requirements may vary from lender to lender, but this is a good bar to go by.

Credit Score requirements for FHA loans.
Believe it or not this is a very controversial move on the lenders, because FHA does not have a credit score requirement. I know for a FACT that HUD is very concerned about this since they do not have a credit score requirement to insure their loans. The lenders that are providing the financing do, due to the high foreclosure rate for credit scores below a 580. With this being said most lenders now require a minimum of a 580 credit score to finance you FHA. This is just an example of how the credit score is so important to get financing these days. If you are in the market to buy a home, we suggest that you see where you stand. Pulling a copy of your consumer credit report with credit scores does not affect your credit score what so ever.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, identity theft protection, secured credit cards, student credit cards , mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

Credit Reports with Credit Scores

Are you currently thinking of pulling your credit report, and want to know your credit scores? Did you know if you go www.annualcreditreport.com you can get a copy of your free credit report once a year, but you don’t get your credit scores? This is a common misconception out there, that www.annualcreditreport.com is really what you need as a consumer when wanting to get a copy of your tri-merge credit report. Let me ask you this, when a creditor pulls your credit report, do they pull a report with no credit scores?
The answer is absolutely NO; they look closely at your scores to determine your credit risk. This is the whole reason for pulling your report to begin with. I see people out there all the time saying go to annul to get a FREE copy of your credit report, when in reality they are not properly educated on what creditors really look at. They just assume they know. So if you are in the market to make a big purchase, or it’s been 60 days since you last looked at your report, you need to get a copy of your credit report with all 3 credit scores. I have explained in other articles who looks at your credit scores and why. It’s pretty obvious these days that you need to stay on top of this matter so you don’t pay higher rates and terms. Maybe you have had some bumps and bruises on your credit and you want to know what is on there so you can start fixing your credit. What ever you situation is, don’t get mislead by the FREE annual credit report, what they provide is not good enough. You need to check your credit report every 60 days, along with getting a credit score with each credit bureau.





Free Trial Credit Reports
Currently the only offers that are available to get your credit scores are free trial offers that automatically sign you up for credit monitoring. These services are not going to hurt you; I repeat these services are not going to hurt you. If would make perfect sense to get a monitoring services especially with all the identity theft going on these days. These monitoring services will also monitor credit scores and notify you if it drops or any major changes to your credit report. There are different free trial offers and they usually range from 14.95 a month to 17.95.This is not that much money when it comes to protecting your good name. Once you have used this service you can always call and cancel all services it signs you up for. The great thing is you got a copy of your credit report with credit scores, which is critical when it comes to your personal purchasing power. Go to creditors with confidence, and ammunition. This will keep you from getting ripped off by paying high interest rates and terms. Get your free credit score report now.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft software, secured credit cards, student credit cards , mortgage loans, auto loans, insurance and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

Survive the Current Credit Crunch

It’s not hard to see that our country is in turmoil currently. You can’t turn on TV without hearing about people loosing there jobs, gas prices being high, recession, foreclosures, and banks going out of business. I figured with this article I would give some tips to protect you and your family’s credit score report. This is probably one of most important times in our history of credit, to make sure you are saving and your credit score is secure.

Personal Finance
A economic downturn could affect your personal savings, investments, and even your job. There are precautionary measures you can take to survive such events.
• Cut back on expenses that are unnecessary, such as cable TV, eating out, frivolous spending, etc……..
• Save 6 months worth of salary in savings account.
• Reduce your Home owner’s insurance policy, shop around for better premiums.
• Reduce insurance costs on your cars.
• Bargain shop for food, clothes, etc….

These are some savings tips that will help you financially with our current economic downturn that we are going through.

Refinance your 15 yr Mortgage
Over the years a 15 yr mortgage might of made since, but of course you could of paid off your mortgage just as quick on a 30 yr mortgage without the pressure of a 15 yr amortized payment.

Equity in your Home
If you currently live in a home and you have equity you might consider tapping into some of the equity for cash on hand. It would be much harder to get a home equity loan if you lost your job.

Rebuilding your credit
If you have had some bumps and bruises, such as a bankruptcy, foreclosure, late payments or collections you don’t have to suffer for the next 7 to 10 yrs. Immediately after such credit issues start rebuilding your credit with secured credit cards. Make sure you have good rental history and save as much money as possible. You really need at least 3 lines of credit reporting, so if yiou can get 3 secured credit cards I would recommend applying for them.

Tax Refund
If you are receiving a tax refund this year make sure you put that towards a debt with high interest charges or into a interest bearing emergency account.

Housing
If you are having issues making your mortgage payment or concerned about a foreclosing on your home here are some number to contact that may be able to assist you. Also make sure you communicate with your current lender as well.
• Home Ownership Preservation – 888-995-HOPE
• Housing and Urban and Development – (888) 569-4287

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft software, secure credit cards, student credit cards , and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

How long does Collections stay on Credit Report?

If you have collections on your credit report, you can count on most of them staying on there for minimum of 7 years from the original collection date. Sometimes you will have the collections sold to different collection companies. This could be a challenge trying to get the original collection date, but the creditor currently reporting the collection must report this information correctly. Typically the creditor reports the wrong original collection date, so you have to dispute it. They must comply with this request under the (FCRA) Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Here is how long items stay on your credit report from original collection date:
1. Medical collections – 7yrs
2. Charge Offs – 7yrs
3. Late payments – 7 yrs
4. Judgments – 7 yrs
5. Tax Liens – until you pay off
6. Repossessions – 7yrs
7. Chapter 7 Bankruptcies – 10 yrs
8. Chapter 13 Bankruptcies – 7yrs
9. Collections – 7 yrs
10. Inquiries – 2 yrs
11. Foreclosure – 7 yrs

I am sure you have heard you can get obligations that you owe removed from your credit report. I will tell you and so with the FTC that you cannot get obligations removed from your credit report even though you owe the debt. The only items you can get removed are items that are not correct, for instance.
 Debt that is not yours
 Maybe you and your father have the same name, and report is skewed
 Duplicate items
 Items over expiration date
 Inaccurate reporting, like slow pays.

Maybe you don’t know what is being reported on your credit report। Its time you find out, so if there is inaccurate information you will know. Current statistics show that 1 out of 4 credit reports have incorrect information on it that would cause a denial of some type of loan.





About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft software, secure credit cards, student credit cards , and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness

How to order your free annual credit report.

Did you know that you are entitled to a free credit report from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion once every 12 months? Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, the three national credit bureaus are required to give you this free service. In this article, CreditScoreQuick.coms experts will show you how to order your free credit reports, reveal hidden tricks to make the ordering process go smoothly and give ideas on how to make the best use of this free credit report service.

1. How can I order my free credit report?

Visit the official website at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to request your credit reports. Enter a few basic details about yourself and then choose which credit report you would like to order first. You don't have to order all three at the same time.

Although Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion share this website, you'll need to complete a separate order and authenticantion process for each credit report. You may need to have some information about your credit and loan accounts handy to answer the identity question process. Be patient; going through three different ordering processes with three different credit bureaus can be frustrating and time consuming.

Once you have completed your order, your credit report will appear instantly online. You can print a copy of your report or return to the site within 30 days to review it again. You can also order your free annual credit reports by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by submitting a request by mail.

2. Are credit scores free as well?

You can purchase credit scores with your free annual report request for $5.95 to $7.95 each. Credit scores are not free.

3. Is it important to check my credit score?

You should check your credit scores regularly to see where your credit stands. Credit scores usually range from 300 to 850 and are used by thousands of businesses to make decisions about what interest rates and deals you deserve.
4. What if I have already requested my free credit reports for the year?

If you already viewed your free annual credit reports this year but would like to see your credit data again, you can always purchase your credit reports and credit scores online. Choose a product that combines all three credit reports and credit scores into one package for simplicity. Not only will you have to complete one request but these reports make it very easy to compare data between the three credit bureaus.
5. How long can I have access to my report?

Your free annual credit report will remain online for 30 days from your request.

Helpful tips and special deals

Discounts and deals:
*Save on your 3-in-1 Credit Report and credit score! If you have already ordered your free reports for this year or would like to avoid the complicated request process, you can purchase your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports for just $34.95. The side-by-side format makes it easy to evaluate and compare your credit reports. Plus, this product includes one free credit score.
Ordering through Experian:
* The Experian request process is fairly easy to use. Just answer a few questions and you'll seeyour credit report online in seconds.
* Adding a credit score to your Experian credit report costs $5.95
* If you do wish to purchase an add-on service, you will need to do so with a credit or debit card. Experian does not take personal checks.
*Once you have viewed your report, be sure to write down your credit report number for future reference. You'll need to enter this number in to their online dispute form if you want to return to check your annual report again within 30 days. You won't be required to file a dispute; this is just how they have returning customers login.
*You can contact Experian customer service by calling 1-888-EXPERIAN.

Ordering with Equifax:
*The Equifax ordering process includes several promotions for other products. You'll be offered discounted credit monitoring and analysis tools during your request. You are not required to purchase any of these products.
*You can add a FICO credit score to your order for $7.95.
* If you do wish to purchase an add-on service, you will need to do so with a credit or debit card. Equifax does not take personal checks.
* If you want to return to see your credit report online during the 30-day period, you will need to select that option and create an account before you view your online report.
* You can login here to check your free Equifax credit report again for 30 days. Your username is probably your Social Security number.
*You can contact Equifax customer service by calling 1-800-525-6285.

Ordering with TransUnion:
*The TransUnion ordering process is the most complex of the three credit bureaus.
*If you are a new customer, carefully create your username and password and record it somewhere for future reference. You'll need this information if you want to see your TransUnion credit data again.
*If you have ever ordered a copy of your credit report through TransUnion, TrueCredit, FreeCreditProfile, or one of their partners, you will need to enter your username and password to access your free annual report online.
*If you don’t remember your username and password, you can try to reset it online here. If that doesn't work, call 1-866-744-8221 and press #2 for help with your login.
*Adding a credit score to your TransUnion credit report costs $5.95.
*TransUnion allows you to pay for your online purchases with a personal check, debit card, or credit card.
*You can login here to check your free TransUnion credit report again for 30 days.
*You can contact TransUnion customer service by calling 1-866-744-8221.

About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of http://www.creditscorequick.com/. CreditScoreQuick.com is the one of the most unique on-line resources for free credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft software, secure credit cards, student credit cards , and a BlOG with a wealth of personal credit information. The information within this website is written by professionals that know about credit, and what determines ones credit worthiness