A valuable update to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that went into effect December 1, 2004, entitles consumers to a free credit report every year from each of three major credit reporting bureaus that maintain them – Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
The report may be requested online at www.annualcreditreport.com, by phone at 1-877-322-8228, or by mail. You can request your credit report by mail by filling out the request form and mailing it to the address found on the web site.
Checking your credit report once a year is an excellent way to guard your good credit. It will reveal suspicious activity on your accounts, who’s been doing a credit check on you and any errors on the report. Don’t expect to receive your credit score with the free report, however. That information is not included.