If you’re interested in applying for any credit – such as a credit card, a retail store card or a house mortgage, knowing how to get a credit report is of utmost importance. This is because your credit report is used as input in determining your credit score, which in turn determines the interest rate at which you will be granted credit, or even if you will be granted credit at all.
Before getting into how to get a credit report, let us go into some definitions. A credit report is a listing of all information that credit bureaus have gathered about you, and which they consider relevant in assessing whether or not you are credit-worthy. When lenders consider your application for a credit card or a loan, they get these reports from the three national credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Knowing how to get a credit report gives you access to the information that these lending companies have about you.
Part of knowing how to get a credit report is also knowing what kind of information it contains. Normally, this would include the following information: your name, addresses, spouse name, and previous and current employers. The most important part of how to get a credit report is your credit history, which outlines all of the companies (banks, finance and mortgage companies, retail stores) that have granted you credit. Details such as loan balances, monthly payments and timeliness or non-timeliness of payments are also included. When you know how to get a credit report, you will also find out the names of all lenders who have received a copy of your credit report, any relevant court orders such as those relating to tax liens and bankruptcy, and any statements from you or a creditor disputing any credit information.
This is how to get a credit report in three simple steps:
The first step of how to get a credit report is dealing with the right credit report provider. Remember that there is only one authorized provider of free credit reports. That is Annual Credit Report Request Service. Unfortunately, there are websites that mimic this site in order to get a hold of your valuable personal information. Make sure you type https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ on your browser.
The second step of how to get a credit report is requesting for it by mail, phone, or through the website. Requesting by mail or phone will give you your credit report in 15 days. Requesting through the website will give you the report immediately. Should you still wish to request through mail, download the request (file) form on the website, fill it up, and send it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
Post Office Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
The third step of how to get a credit report is perusing your credit report and finding any inaccuracies in your report. Since any mistakes may be a detriment to your credit score, have these corrected right away. For fraud alerts and corrections, contact the credit bureau that sent your credit report at: www.alerts.equifax.com for Equifax, www.experian.com/fraud for Experian, and www.transunion.com for TransUnion.
Can't Find What You're Looking For?