Monitoring your credit to make sure your information is accurate is an important step toward getting better credit scores.  You can do this at no cost under your consumer rights provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  Just go to annualcreditreport.com or the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

NOTE: There are many imposter websites as well as companies that advertise “free” credit reports.  Most of these are for-profit operations that require you to sign up for one of their services, usually with a 30-day trial period, to get your “free” report.  These are NOT your actual free reports allowed by law.

The FCRA gives every consumer the right to a copy of their credit file from EACH of the three credit bureaus annually.  That is actually THREE FREE reports per year.  You can obtain one free report every four months to effectively monitor your credit throughtout the year.

OTHER FREE REPORTS
If you apply for a loan, credit card or insurance and are turned down, you are entitled to a free credit report from the credit bureau that provided the information to the company that denied your application.  The company is required by law to send you a letter with the details on why you were denied along with the instructions on how to obtain the free report.  You have 60 days after you receive the notification to request your free report.

If you are unemployed and plan to look for a job in the next 60 days, you can state that in a letter to the credit bureaus and get a free credit report from each of them.

If you are on public assistance or welfare, you can also send a letter requesting your free report.

If you believe there is fraudulent information or activity associated with your credit report, you can place a fraud alert with all three credit bureaus and get a free report from each to assess the accuracy of your file. 

You can help your credit scores grow by checking your credit reports regularly and correcting any errors. 
Increase your Financial Fitness with a Credit Check Up and get strategies to help each part of your score.