Get Updated on Your Financial Situation with a Credit Report
There is a lot of talk about credit today and the need to know what type of rating you have. Most people who make purchases on credit do not pay the full amount off when the bill comes. They usually make a minimum payment so they still have some spending cash on hand. By dragging out payments on credit cards and other loans, you could be damaging your credit rating. One way to find out where your credit stands is by obtaining a credit report.
How to Obtain a Credit Report
Most people do not know that they are eligible to receive a free credit report once a year from each credit bureau. To learn how to obtain a free report, people can contact the Federal Trade Commission or visit their website. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of their credit report will need to fill out a request form. This is used to access the information provided by the three top credit bureaus. The report is only available for free once a year.
If you have already received your free annual credit report and wish to have another report, you can use one of several agencies that charge a s
mall fee for this service. Some of these agencies will offer free report as a trial membership service for the first thirty days. People should be aware that obtaining the reports can take some time so your free trial report may be limited to one rather than to obtaining all three. If you need the report because you want to know if you will be eligible for a loan it is best to obtain all three in order to have an accurate idea of where your credit stands.
Why Obtain a Credit Report
Having an accurate report of your credit can save you time and stress when applying for more credit. It is a good idea to get a report when thinking of applying for a large amount of money such as a home or car loan. You might want a report if you are thinking of having a car refinanced or applying for a business loan. The reports you receive are the same reports used by financial lending agencies to determine whether or not someone should be approved for a loan.
Another reason to obtain a credit report is to see what information it actually contains. In some cases, the credit history can take three or four months to be updated. This means a report could still show an outstanding balance which needs to be paid off, which has actually already been paid off. In some cases, there can be discrepancies between reports which is why it is a good idea to get all three of them. If a credit bureau does have inaccurate or incomplete information you want to contact them to have the information corrected.
Other people who can have access to your credit report include financial institutions, employers and insurance agencies. To avoid having an embarrassing situation about your finances you should get a copy of your report to see what the other agencies are seeing.
Author Bio: Jacob brown has a vast experience in writing articles on insurance and related topics. In this article he has discussed the ways to avail a Life Insurance Policies. He suggests his readers to visit Arc-protect.com for further information.
Related articles
- How to Fix Your Credit Report Yourself (savealittlemoney.com)
- 5 Myths About Credit Reports (savealittlemoney.com)
- Improve Your Credit Score – 4 Effective Ways (50plusfinance.com)
- Points To Consider Before Borrowing Money (savealittlemoney.com)
Category: Credit
One thing I have heard recently, but have not yet confirmed, is that if you check your credit score too often, your score will drop a little. Apparently, frequent checks are indicative of worry. Any thoughts on this? I’ve written a little on credit scores and how credit cards are not the only things that affect them.
It’s true. Every time you make an inquiry it goes on the report as a soft hit. It does make a difference and lowers your numbers.