How to Get Free Credit Reports

An up-to-date credit report is an absolutely vital piece of information that every person should possess but don't get suckered into paying for credit reports that you are entitled to for FREE by law. Knowing exactly what is on your credit report is often dismissed as not being important by so many people yet the importance of having this information cannot be stressed enough. Your credit report will show you exactly what lenders see and you are likely to find one or two errors on there also that once corrected can improve your credit score very quickly. Having your credit report when applying for any financial product could actually save you money because whenever you apply for credit, no matter what type of credit, it is recorded on your credit history, irrespective whether your application is approved or rejected. Approvals for credit are great but each time you have a rejection it will damage your credit score further, however, if you have your report in front of you before making any application you will be able to judge, based upon a consultation with the lender, whether you are likely to be approved or not and therefore avoid any unnecessary damage to your credit score. A good credit score is important because the benefits of having a good credit score are that you will be able to obtain better terms with lower interest rates and a much greater choice when it comes to choosing lenders. You are entitled by law to a FREE credit report every twelve months from each of the three credit bureaus; Experian, TransUnion and Equifax which you can apply for online at the respective sites or by mail, so don't get suckered into paying for something you can get for free. A good idea is to stagger each application by four months; by doing so you will have an updated report every sixteen weeks or so. Be aware though that each bureau may hold slightly differing information about you, so if you cannot see something on your newest report that was on your previous report it doesn't necessarily mean it has been removed. On a final note, when applying for credit always ask which of the three credit bureaus the lender uses when checking the credit records of potential clients. If your credit score with one of the three bureaus is healthier than with the other two, it may be advantageous to look for a lender that uses that specific bureau when performing their checks.