Everyone is aware that probably the three major credit bureaus at the national level (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) maintain credit reports on you and everyone else. But do you know you can order free credit report annually.

Well, do Not go to search engine and search Free Credit Report, you might be mislead into websites where you have to pay money for the same or some additional information. Some might trick you into signing up for credit monitoring for a monthly fee; something most people won’t need. You may need more close monitoring of your credit report if you are identity theft victim or suspect it.

How to get your Free Credit report ?

The three major credit-reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian, are each required to provide consumers, upon request, a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months.

Each consumer must request reports one of these three ways:

- Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the only authorized source for consumers to access their annual credit report online for free.

- Call (877) 322-8228.

- Complete the form on the back of the Annual Credit Report Request brochure, available from the Federal Trade Commission

 A credit report is divided into four sections: Identifying information, credit history, public records and inquiries.

Identifying information: Well, that is information to identify you

The next section is your credit history. This is main part of the report. Your mortgage, car, credit cards, student loans, charge offs, collections and on time or late payment history.

Public records section is where you’ll find bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens. The bad stuff. Creditors expect this section to be empty.

Last one is inquiries section. Here you can see who’s pulled your credit report.

What you do NOT get in Annual Free Credit report is your FICO score. If you need to know that, you have to pay. It could cost from $10 to $30 depending on where you order it. (read more about FICO score below)

What is a FICO score ?

Many people have a problem understanding what their credit score is, and if they do know the number, they may not know for sure whether it is actually a good credit score or a bad one.

The credit score measures the financial credit worthiness of a borrower. With credit score information, the lender assesses the risk involve in lending sum of money to the borrower.

Fair Isaac Corporation is also known as FICO. FICO provides the best known indicator of financial credit worthiness to lending institutions. The FICO credit score ranges from 300 to 850. Higher the number on FICO it is better.

A credit score of 660: Puts borrower as potentially Subprime where are borrower with blemished and limited credit history. A higher credit score indicates better financial credit worthiness.

Most borrowers average from 600 to 800 credit score. Lending institution favors above 720 of credit score.

The late payments on loans, absence of credit preferences, lack of credit history, and uncontrollable use of credit cards brings the credit score down. Without a credit history, the lenders would not know how the borrower handles their finances.

How often should I order credit report?

You can order all three credit reports at one time, or at different times throughout the year. It's your choice. The useful way would be order the report every four months from one of the credit-reporting agencies.

For example .. January - Equifax, May - TransUnion and September - Experian 

Next year again… January - Equifax, May - TransUnion and September – Experian

Everyone should get a copy of their credit report at least once a year. If you have had problems with your credit such as identity theft, you may want to get a copy of your credit bureau report even more often.

What is the contact information of Credit reporting agencies?

Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA30374
(800) 797-7033

Experian
NCAC
P.O. Box 9595
Allen, TX75013
(800) 583-4080

Trans Union
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA19022-2000
(800) 916-8800

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