Cindy’s Other Blog

Getting an annual credit report review has been the advice of many financial managers as they guided their customers to be aware of all information on credit reports. Would the idea of a free annual credit report be good news? Consumers are thrilled with the new federal mandate that demands the three major national credit bureaus offer a free annual credit report to anyone requesting copies of their personal credit reports. An annual credit report is available from each of these bureaus.

In the past, an annual credit report would cost a consumer about $9 each. And, considering that each of the credit reports from the three major bureaus could be different, consumers found it simpler to avoid the issue of credit repair. Those consumers that had been denied credit could, however, obtain a copy of their credit report from the bureau that offered the low credit score. This would allow the consumer to see the reason for a low score. But now, with identity theft on the rise, consumers are being urged to keep an eye on their reports, even if there has been no reason to suspect misinformation. An annual credit report review is the future of credit management.

The last thing you can do is fill out completely the form on the back of the Annual Credit Report Request brochure and then mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281. Make sure that you go through the centralized agency as by obtaining your report from other agencies you will not receive an annual free credit report but you will be charged for their credit services.

If you are going to view your free annual credit report online, then you need to be aware of unofficial sites. There is one way to ensure that the website you are viewing is official: The website will have HTTPS in the address bar when you are entering sensitive information, rather then the traditional HTTP. This will be because you are swapping sensitive information and then no one will be able to see what you are typing.

A free credit report score is a good idea if you already know your credit rating and would just like to know your credit score. Most companies get an idea of your credit score by obtaining information from lots of different customers. Then they get a credit score system and that is how your credit score is determined; it may seem strange, but that is how it’s done.