Obtaining Your Credit Information

Once a year, you should check your Credit Report for accuracy and to guard against Identity Theft.  Since Creditors may report to one or more Credit Reporting Agencies, it is suggested that you request a report from each.  Married couples should each request a separate report from all three agencies, as the information may be different for each spouse.

You can also obtain a copy of the Credit Reporting Agency’s Credit Score for you.  These are not a part of your Credit Report, so must be requested separately (or, in addition to).

In The United States…

In the US, as of September 1, 2005, you may now request one free annual Credit Report, every 12 months, from each of the three major Credit Reporting Agencies.  The three agencies have created a central location for you to obtain these reports.  By law, ONLY www.annualcreditreport.com has been authorized to provide these free reports.  Be leery of any other organization that offers you a “free” Credit Report, as many times there ARE fees.

Important!

By law, ONLY annualcreditreport.com has been authorized to provide these free annual credit reports.

Be leery of any other organization that offers you a “free” credit report.

To get your free annual Credit Report:

• Visit www.annualcreditreport.com,


• Call 1.877.322.8228 or


• Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form (available from www.annualcreditreport.com) and mail it to:


• Annual Credit Report Request Service
• P. O. Box 105281
• Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

To obtain your Credit Score and / or Credit Reports directly from the Credit Reporting Agencies, you may request them by phone or over the Internet.  There are fees.

You may be exempted from some of the fees, IF you:

• Are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days;


• Are on public welfare assistance;


• Believe your credit file may contain inaccurate information due to fraud;


• Have had an adverse decision (denial of credit, insurance, or employment) within the past 60 days.

The Credit Reporting Agencies are:

• Equifax - 1.800.685.1111


• TransUnion - 1.800.916.8800


• Experian - 1.888.397.3742

Apparently, there is a “new” Credit Reporting Agency.  It differs from the “Big Three” in that it does not sell consumer credit information to lenders, insurers, and potential employers.  Instead, it helps creditors compile mailing lists.  For example, if you have good credit, you are likely to receive many “pre-approved” credit offers.  If you have bad credit, you can count on receiving offers targeted specifically at you. 

• Innovis - 1.800.540.2505

(Please double-check each agency’s website for information required, fees required, and addresses if you are going to request by mail.)

Opting Out of Marketing Lists

While you’re requesting your Credit Reports, you may want to consider opting out of their marketing lists.  In the US, the Credit Reporting Agencies may sell your information to marketing firms.  To “opt out”, you may:

• Go to www.optoutprescreen.com,
• Call 888.5OPTOUT (888.567.8688), or
• Use the Letter to Opt Out of Personal Information Release provided in the Sample Letter Index.

You may also want to contact the Direct Marketing Association to remove your name from their mailing and telephone listings obtained from other sources.  See their site for more details.