A segment of the population may not be aware that they may be entitled to a free credit report from one or all of the three major credit reporting companies in the United States. To receive your free report you must either reside in a specific state or have been denied credit by a credit giving entity. Normally you are informed of your entitlement in a rejection letter, buy even if you are not informed you should contact the credit reporting agency from whom your credit report was obtained to verify that you are in fact not eligible to receive a free report.
          Also be aware that in some state you may not be eligible to receive a free report, but you may be eligible to obtain it at a reduced price. So contact one or all of the three major credit reporting agencies that may reside in your state. If you are not able to obtain it for free or at a reduced price, you will have to obtain it at full price. Full price may vary from state to state, so check the price for your residing state. Also be aware that you be entitled to only one free credit report per year.

The last known addresses of the three major agencies are:

1. www.experian.com
2. www.transunion.com
3. www.equifax.com

To download or print a sample credit report request letter, please click on the desired link, please use Html format as a last resort because you may wish to change something on the letter, such as removing the word free if you have to pay:

• Text Format:
  • Experian
  • Transunion
  • Equifax

• Word Doc Format:
  • Experian
  • Transunion
  • Equifax

• Html Format
  • Experian
  • Transunion
  • Equifax

          Ok!, now that I have my credit report what do I do? First check and make sure it is your credit report. This sounds strange, but you must take into consideration the fact that you are probably not the only person in the U.S. with your name. Check to make sure that the birth date, social security number, and any other personal information on the report is accurate. If you are not sure where to look for this, most reports come with instructions on how to read them. So check the back of the report or any accompanying papers. Note any information that is incorrect because you will have to call or write to the credit reporting agency to either fix any wrong information and/or to get the correct report. Note that some companies may allow you to do this online, so check their website before you call or write.
         Next check to make sure that any credit information on your report is correct and/or up to date. If there are any inaccuracies on the report, note them because you will need the information in order to file to have them corrected. Once any inaccuracies have been corrected you should contact any credit giving agency from which you either obtained or tried to obtain credit recently. Inform them that you wish to be given further consideration in regards to your credit line or to simply be given consideration again in your were declined. Inform them that there was wrongful information on your credit report that may have influenced their decision regarding you credit. You should also do this because some companies will have on their records why a certain credit decision was made regarding your credit, so that may influence your credit with them in the future.
          Now that you have checked your report and fixed inaccuracies, read the next section: Obtaining a Credit Card. Even if you already have a credit card you may find this section useful, because it includes some information on protecting your credit.

Next Section: Obtaining a credit card

Copyright ©, 2002