Credit reports contain plenty of information about your identity and financial history. Financial lenders look at them when giving out loans, but landlords and even employers use them sometimes. Fortunately, you can obtain a free copy of your report once a year. Use this report to check your financial history for accuracy and protect against identity theft. If you need additional credit reports, request them online, over the phone, or through the mail. Additional reports require you to pay a small fee in most cases, but your credit is worth keeping a close eye on.
One good thing to do is to check your report before you make large purchases. If you're planning to buy a car, a house, or get insurance, it's a good idea to do this before applying for credit. It's a simple matter of waiting until after the loan is approved to check the report to make sure there are no problems. Otherwise, you may have trouble finding a lender who does want to give you credit.
Another good idea is for identity thieves to pretend to be you and apply for credit in your name. If you have an existing loan, it's a good idea to add a fraud alert to your credit report. You will notify anyone who checks your report and the identifying information will not appear on your loan. This protects against identity theft if you're not expecting it.
Recently added is the requirement for companies to notify you if a choice regarding a certain product or service involves credit. When a company denies you a particular service, eligibility, or charge on a product or service, the company should include a toll-free phone number for you to contact them for your refund.
Checking your credit report on a regular basis will help you make sure there's no errors. This is the watchdog of your financial peace of mind, especially if you're about to make a big purchase. If you find an error on your report, investigate the problem and do what's necessary to correct it.
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