GuideRocket.com: When it comes to knowing about how you are handling your financial obligations, the best way to find out is check your credit report. The credit report contains all the details of your financial transactions including how well you repay your loans and based on the credit score you have, they will decide whether to lend you money or not. So it is always important to maintain a healthy credit score at all times to gain the confidence among lenders. The credit report contains all the details about yourself, where you live, the number of credit cards and bank accounts you maintain and the history of payments made by you against all credit cards and loans. You also need to make sure that all information has been updated in your credit report, hence it is recommended to verify your credit report at least once a year.
Obtain Your Credit Report
There are three major credit bureaus that provide you credit reports and normally it costs around $9 to get a credit report from them. But under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these credit bureaus must provide you a free credit report once in a year upon your request. You can either view these reports online or have them send it to your email.
To obtain your credit report visit www.annualcreditreport.com a website started in collaboration by all the three credit bureaus to enable you easy access to your credit report. There are many sites that boast of providing you with free credit reports, but the site mentioned above is the only authorized site to provide you with your credit report accurately.
Provide Your Details
To request your credit report, you need to provide some basic details about yourself including your name, your Social Security Number (SSN), your birth date, present address and previous addresses if any to enable the website to validate that whether it is you who is requesting the credit report.
Decide on the Credit Reports to Order
The credit reports from all the three credit bureaus vary with some information slightly. So if you are thinking about getting a loan for buying a new house, then it is important that you get the credit report from all three bureaus. But if you just want to check your credit status, then it is sufficient to get a report from only of the bureaus, so you can order the report from the other bureaus over the course of the year to keep your credit report in check throughout the year.
Identity Verification
While you are applying for a credit report, each agency will ask you several question regarding your financial transactions regarding the total amount you obtained on a certain loan, your previous address details, your employment details to verify your identity. Once you successfully verified your identity, you can view free credit report instantly online. If you wish to mail it to your address, it normally takes around 10-15 days to be delivered to your address.