Five Reasons Why You Should Not Buy Your Credit Report
In today’s society everything revolves around having good credit. This has spawned thousands of Americans to run out and buy their credit reports before making purchases of significance (and some just to view what’s on their credit report). Making sure your credit report doesn’t have any errors on it is another major reason for the surge of credit reports being bought in the masses. In all actuality this is just a sneaky maneuver used by agencies selling you those massive amounts of reports to prey on your insecurities so you will keep purchasing them.
Whether you have purchased one, numerous, or no copies of your credit report I have five reasons why next time you see one of those sneaky ads you will close it with confidence.
1. It astonishes me that society still do not realize that the three major credit reporting agencies (i.e. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) are required by law to provide you with one free credit report a year. You must request them through www.annualcreditreport.com. If you are intelligent and space the three of them out by four months you are covered for the entire year, so remind me where the need is to purchase one.
2. Anytime you are denied credit you are entitled to a free credit report. You must contact the credit-reporting agency that provided your information for the creditor and provide them with a copy of the denial and a request for your credit report within the specified time stated on the denial notification.
3. Businesses that supply you with large amounts of credit (such as a motor vehicle loan) normally check your credit while you are there. They will generally have a copy of your credit report with them and will of course inquire about anything they think poses a problem or is unclear to them (i.e. if they inquire if you’ve ever had a repossession and you state no, when in fact you have and it’s listed on your report; or you magically forget to let them in on this juicy tidbit). While they have your credit report in their hand is a great time to ask to see it. They will not deny you this request as it is YOUR credit report.
4. You can receive a free credit report by signing up for the numerous websites offering credit monitoring. Just Google free credit report and you get a tremendous amount of hits; look for the ones that offer a free trial period. If you don’t want to continue the service of credit monitoring after you receive your credit report you can easily cancel your membership within the stated time and owe nothing
5. If you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud or that there are inaccuracies on your report you are entitled to a free credit report. Contact one of the major credit reporting agencies listed above and explain your situation to them. Depending on your situation you may be entitled to more than one free credit report.
Now you are armed with knowledge on when you’re entitled to your free credit report. So what are you waiting for?
