Can I Really Get A Free Anual Credit Report?

Not that long ago, in response to consumers complaining about having to pay for a credit report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began giving individuals access to one free credit report a year.

These credit reports can be ordered online through the FTC website and can be delivered, instantly, online or can be mailed to the individual’s home.  These free anual credit reports are easy to request and access.

What You Get

Once each year we are all given access to a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus; Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.  These credit reports will provide you will all of the information that is currently being reported on your credit including any past due balances, judgments, open accounts, work history, addresses used, and any names that have been used when attempting to qualify for credit.

How do you get them?

In order to get your free credit report you must visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website directly.  There are other services that claim to offer the same thing but it is extremely important that you visit the FTC’s website directly to make sure you are going to the right location to place your order.

Once you are at the FTC website and in the consumer credit section you will be asked to pick which credit reporting agency report you want to view.  All three are available but they can only be accessed one at a time.

In order to view your report you will need to be able to answer some questions in order to verify your identity.  These questions are usually related to items that are currently being reported on your credit report.

They can range from asking about current account holders, past addresses, and past employers.  If for some reason you are unable to answer the questions you will not be able to complete your request online.

In the event that you are not able to request your free anual credit report online or you do not wish to complete it online there are other alternatives.  You can print out a request and mail it to each of the three credit reports.  After it is received the credit reporting agency will mail you a complete copy of the credit report.  This process usually takes about 30 days though sometimes you will receive your report sooner and other times it will take slightly longer than 30 days.

If you are requesting your free anual credit report through the postal service because you were unable to verify your identity you might have to provide proof with your request.  I was once asked to provide a copy of my driver’s license but the verification methods do sometimes vary.

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