Why a Free Credit Report Is Worth Your Time

Dec. 3, 2004 — -- A new federal law, entitled the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, went into effect this week enabling millions of Americans to get a snapshot of their credit history for free. The FACT Act grants consumers one free credit report a year from each of the big three credit reporting bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Currently, the cost of a credit report is around $9.

Your credit report should not remain a mystery to you because it allows an institution or person, such as a potential lender, credit card company, landlord or employer to view your credit history and determine whether you would be a good risk for a loan, credit card, home or job. And, according to the Public Interest Research Group, one in four credit reports has errors that are serious enough to disqualify consumers from opening a bank account, purchasing a home or even getting a job! Furthermore, a negative credit score can impact the mortgage, auto and credit card rates available to you. Additionally, a credit report is an excellent tool to determine if any fraudulent transactions have occurred on your accounts.

The easiest way to access a free credit report is to log on to www.annualcreditreport.com. All of the background and vital information -- including when the free reports will be available in your state -- is available and easy to retrieve. You can also obtain a copy of your report by calling 877-322-8228. It is important to note that if you log on to one of the big three's Web sites to order a report, in most cases you will be charged. One of the bureaus, Experian, is already providing a free report to consumers independent of their geographic location.You can access this free report from Experian at www.freecreditreport.com.

If you live in the South or eastern United States, free reports will not be available until June or September of 2005. However, you should not wait until then to access a copy of your report. In fact, if you believe an error on your report was cause for your denial of a mortgage, employment, insurance or credit, you may be eligible for a free credit report immediately.