Your Credit Reports

hobbit · Post by **hobbit** » November 21st, 2006, 2:21 am

I just spent an hour on the web pulling up and printing my credit reports from all three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, & Expirian. Under federal law you have the right to do this once a year, absolutely free. If anyone else is interested in doing this, here's how:

Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

This site is run jointly by the big three credit reporting agencies.

Read all text carefully. These companies hate giving up anything for free, and they've mined their web site with all manner of buttons you can click for your "credit score" ($7.95), or for "credit watch" services ($39.95 annually), etc. etc.

Ignore all these offers and just seek out the link or button that takes you to the next step in pulling up your credit report.

IMPORTANT: Once your credit report is up, PRINT IT! You can't save the online link to your credit report and you can't download it to disk. Here again, the agencies offer you 30-day web access to your credit report for a fee. Forget about that. Just print it, because once you close the link to your credit report, you can't have free access to it again for another year.

Have lots of paper handy. The three reports can run up to 45 printed pages total, because federal disclosure laws and dispute regulations are part of the Equifax report. The other two agencies streamline their disclosure statements somewhat.

Once you've printed out your credit report from an agency, click the back button to take you back to:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Click the next credit agency's logo, and follow the procedure all over again. After you're through with that agency's report, repeat the process for the last agency. With a fast connection and a little luck, you should get it all done in less than an hour....absolutely free.

289sotherhalf · Post by **289sotherhalf** » November 21st, 2006, 8:00 am

Thank you for that info, Ranger hobbit. It will definitely come in handy right now for us.

Flesh Thorn · Post by **Flesh Thorn** » November 21st, 2006, 8:31 am

Esperian will not give you your free report on-line without a credit card and then you have to cancel within 30 days are get charged.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This offer is not related to the free credit report that you are entitled to under Federal Law. To obtain that report, you must go to annualcreditreport.com. Free report requires enrollment in a trial of Experian Credit Manager. Cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period and pay nothing. Otherwise, you will be billed just $9.95 for each month that you continue your membership.

...and the stupid fucks at Equifax have mis-spelled my first name.

hobbit · Post by **hobbit** » November 21st, 2006, 1:35 pm

Flesh Thorn wrote:Esperian will not give you your free report on-line without a credit card and then you have to cancel within 30 days are get charged.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This offer is not related to the free credit report that you are entitled to under Federal Law. To obtain that report, you must go to annualcreditreport.com. Free report requires enrollment in a trial of Experian Credit Manager. Cancel anytime during the 30-day trial period and pay nothing. Otherwise, you will be billed just $9.95 for each month that you continue your membership.
...and the stupid fucks at Equifax have mis-spelled my first name.

I got my report from Expirian last night for free and so can you. Go through the procedure again and READ ALL INFORMATION AND LINKS CAREFULLY, as I advised previously. When you come to the section where the above quoted line of confusing hyperbole exists, scroll up and down the page for the link or "continue" button that will pull up your credit file. Expirian MUST give you a free credit report once a year. It's A FEDERAL LAW. If the web site is too confusing for you, you can also call them and get the credit report that way.

From the Expirian web site:

"You also may call 1 866 200 6020 to request a copy of your personal credit report to be delivered by U.S. mail. All consumers are also eligible to obtain one statutory free annual credit file disclosure from each of the national credit reporting companies every twelve months. You may request your disclosures at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 877 FACTACT. If you prefer to write, a request form is available at www.annualcreditreport.com."

Call Expirian at 1-866-200-6020 and tell them you don't want your "credit score". Tell them you only want the credit report that they are mandated by federal law to provide to you once per year FOR FREE!

BTW These agencies ask for a credit card number when you are providing your ID info, not to charge you anything, but to verify that you are actually the person to whom the free credit report applies. It's ID verification, that's all.

RTO · Post by **RTO** » November 21st, 2006, 1:43 pm

Flesh Thorn wrote:
...and the stupid fucks at Equifax have mis-spelled my first name.

What a bunch of dummies.....How hard is it to spell "Flesh"

ABN MP · Post by **ABN MP** » November 21st, 2006, 5:10 pm

I check mine every 6 months. I want to see where it is and also to check and see if there have been any requests for credit in the last 6 months. Just a way to check credit fraud.

Cat · Post by **Cat** » November 27th, 2006, 6:16 am

I haven't checked mine in sometime. Thanks for the information, it's a good reminder.