How to Obtain Your Credit Report for Free
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to obtain a free annual copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).Your credit report lists all of your past borrowing history and whether you paid on time, had any late payments, or declared bankruptcy.
It's important to see your credit report in case there are mistakes which could affect your credit score. Side note: a credit report is not the same thing as a credit score ( See: How to Obtain Your Credit Score for Free )
To get your free credit report, you will need to visit AnnualCreditReport.com
The whole process only takes a couple of minutes and you get access to all 3 of your credit reports. I recommend you look at all three because each one is presented a little differently and they may not all have the same information. It's important that you check each one for mistakes.
Equifax Credit Report
Equifax tracks up to 7 years of credit history and shows specific months you were late on any payments.
TransUnion Credit Report
TransUnion has the nicest presentation, showing a history of each account and highlighting any late payments.
Experian Credit Report
Experian needs to work on their presentation a bit, but they do have credit history going back 10 years and they highlight any problems that may negatively affect your credit score.
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get your free credit report.
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