Hot to Get a Free Credit Report and Who to Contact

A Credit Article Contributed by Annie Bauers

If I Want a Free Credit Report Who Do I Call or Write To?

any of the credit reporting agencies can give you a free credit report. The agencies are Experion, TransUnion and Equifax. If another company gives you a free credit report the credit report comes from one of these three agencies. Ton conatct them to request a free credit report write or call:

Equifax

P.O. Box 740241

Atlanta, GA 30374

1-800-685-1111

Experian

P.O. Box 2002

Allen, TX 75013

1 888 397 3742

Trans Union

P.O. Box 1000

Chester, PA 19022

Why Can They Give Me a Free Credit Report?

\You can obtain a free credit report because by law you are entitled to one free report a year. In addition if you have recently been denied for credit from a lender you can contact one of the credit reporting agencies and receive a free copy.

It would be wise of you to not only get one free copy a year to review but request one every three months so. You will be charged a small fee by the credit reporting agency that you request the credit report from. The reason you want to obtain a credit report in the first place is to review it and look for errors or outdated and inaccurate information.

There could be outdated information on your credit report. If you would like to update information contact all three of the agencies. You should contact and alert all three agencies. Different merchants utilize different agencies when pulling a credit report so chances are if you make a change with just one of the agencies on your credit report it will not be updated on the other two.

You should look at your credit report to make sure all your payments have been reported correctly. some times a merchant will make a mistake and over charge you for a good or service or even sometimes you can be charged for items you have not even purchased. Whatever the case may be if you find an error contact the credit agencies immediately and start a dispute report.

How Many Free Credit Reports Can I Get?

You can request one free copy of your credit report each year. You are allowed to request one from each of three agencies one time however. In addition, if you have recently been denied credit from a potential lender you are entitled to a free copy of the credit report.

If you have recently been denied for credit when you thought you were is good standing will be a good time to request your credit report. The reason for this is that there might be errors on your credit report that are having a negative effect on your credit score. To keep current of what your credit score is periodically is a good habit to get into. This way if there is an error you can have it removed before you ask a lender for credit.