by William Blake
Consumers use the Federal Trade Commission as a sounding board for their complaints. A few years ago, many consumers saw an advertisement for a free credit report and then got stuck paying a monthly fee for a service, and the FTC received a high number of complaints. As a result, the Fair Credit Reporting Act was changed so that consumers can receive a free credit report from TransUnion, Experian, and Eqiufax each, the three national consumer reporting agencies, annually.
There are many websites that advertise free credit reports if you agree to test out their services. The only place online where you can find a truly free credit report is the American government’s website, www.annualcreditreport.com. You can apply for you free credit report online, by phone, or by mail.
Although these credit reports that have been apportioned for consumers by the federal government are completely free to use, a rather large number of consumers fail to avail themselves of this service. Since it does take some time to fill out a request form and send it in, some people don’t want to take the time to do it. Other people, though, simple are not aware that they can get a credit report for free.
In order to stay on top of your credit, you should get a credit report once every four months. This schedule works out well with the arrangement that has been established by the US government. Since each of the three national credit reporting agency is required by federal law to give consumers a free credit report once a year, you can request one from each agency every four months and thus maintain a watchful eye on your credit without having to pay anything.
Keep in mind, however, that these credit report agencies are not going to send you a free credit report without at least trying to get you to spend some money on other services that they offer to consumers. They will offer you such non-essential services as monthly credit monitoring and a credit score.
It might be a good idea to check out your credit score if you are planning to apply for any loans in the near future. Knowing any problems that you might have can allow you to prepare information to explain the situations surrounding the negative, or show how your financial situation has changed since that time.
Credit watch services can also be beneficial to some people. For example, if you are concerned that your current or former spouse is causing damage to your credit score or if you are worried that your identity will be stolen, credit watch services will help you stay aware of what is happening with your credit.
Remember that you can indeed receive a no strings attached, absolutely free credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com.
About the Author:
Debt consolidation is a good way to pay off debt faster but it’s not right for everyone. Learn more about when you should and shouldn’t consider consolidating your debt on the Inside Debt Consolidation website at http://www.insidedebtconsolidation.com
