Are You Still Eligible For Credit?

Did you know that you are eligible to receive your credit report free of charge at least
once a year? An amendment to the federal FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) of 2004 states that each nationwide credit bureau and national specialty credit reporting agencies must provide you, at your request, a free copy of your personal credit report history at least once every 12 months.

In December 2004 the three major national credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion companies began an advertising campaign to alert the nation to this new service available to the public. It was hoped that by September 2005, consumers across the country would have been given access to their personal credit history on an annual basis, provided they requested it. There is no requirement for any of the credit companies to provide you with this report on a voluntary basis. You must ask for it yourself. That is an important consideration here, you must ask for your own credit report. You cannot request one for anybody else, relative, friend, or neighbors.It is a federal crime to identify yourself as someone else for the purpose of obtaining that person’s credit report.

Anyone who lived in the western states were able to start requesting their personal credit
report beginning in December 2004. People in the midwest states were eligible beginning
in March, 2005 and folks in the South could begin requesting their reports in June 2005.
Last, but not least, people in the Eastern States and all United States Territories were
able to request the reports beginning in September 2005.

The Federal Government has set up a website outlining all of the details of how to go about requesting your own free credit report. This new law promoting universal access to free credit reports can be found at ftc.gov/credit.

Anyone can get a free copy of their personal credit report by visiting the website at
annualcreditreport.com. They can also get a copy by telephoning 877-322-8228. A third option is to fill out an Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service

P.O. Box 105281

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Nationwide credit reporting agencies like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and associated state laws. According to the law you can order one free copy of your personal credit report from each of these national agencies once every twelve months. This means that you can order all of the reports at once, one from each of the three companies, or spread it out, ordering one report every four months.

When you fill out the Annual Credit Report Request Form you will have to include your full name, current address, your Social Security number, and your date of birth. If you have had more than one address within the last two years, you will have to include them, also.

None of the national credit reporting agencies are going to send you any information
without your providing some personal information as verification. They will compare your answers against information already in their database. They will ask you several questions such as “how much is your monthly mortgage payment?”, “What is your address?” or, they will ask for the last four digits of your social security number. Each agency can ask for different information because the information each has in your file may come from different sources. You will need to have this information have this information ready so you can fill it in when asked for it. Bookmark this website so you can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com.

Practically every day, each of us is involved in some sort of financial transaction. You
could be buying a new television set, a used car or groceries at your local supermarket.
Your credit card represents much more than a just a piece of plastic. It gives you the
ease of paying for your purchases quickly and easily without carrying a lot of cash or
using your checkbook. It also gives you the added benefit of receiving a statement of your monthly charges for the card you are using. But at the end of the month you have to pay it back either in a lump sum or in installments with interest and other charges. So, you have to use it responsibly or it will become a rubber crutch instead of an aide.

Remember, credit cards are not a cash grant. Always buy responsibly and live within your means or you will wind up with no credit card and no credit.

Jack Igan is a part-time writer and webmaster at bestcreditscoring.com bestcreditscoring.com. This website can help you to bestcreditscoring.com get better credit and to straighten out an already shaky credit report.