Most of you have probably seen those commercials with the red-haired dude saying, "I'm thinking of a number, can you guess what it is? It's 720!" He's referring to his credit score and advertising an online service that allows you to request three free credit reports each year.
There are three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies — Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian — and you can get one free annual report from each company.
You should take advantage of the three free reports (once every four months) to make sure you're not a victim of identity theft and to keep track of your financial health. Keep your score high by avoiding too much debt and always paying bills on time. Your own credit checks won't have an impact on your score, but credit companies' inquiries can have a negative effect so don't go crazy applying for a bunch of credit cards!
Marshall Ward
Brand Alley
British Knights
There are a lot of fake sites that try to scam you so be careful. You can get your free reports from annualcreditreport.com.
1I use this regularly - they send me an email and i go to the site and check it once in a while.
2i so need to do this again!
3The three sites are:
Experian
Equifax
TransUnion
Use these sites to check your credit score
A must for savvy women.
4i subscribe to a service that sends me updates all the time - and i'm really thankful for that. there are several things there that always trip me up becuase the different reporting agencies post things on a different time line. it's good to know - better safe than sorry!
5Thanks for the tip.
6Will definitely do myself a favor this month; four months from now, I'll check it again. 2008 is the year I plan to get "it" right.
7A guy at the Carphone Warehouse recommended using Equifax a few months ago, when I moved to a new flat and couldn't get any phone contract because the companies where mixing up my credit details with the people who'd previously been living in my flat.
8Best thing I ever did!
9www.annualacreditreport.com will connect you to all three reporting agencies
10does anyone know if car dealers doing credit checks to find out what rates are available to you, will lower your score?!
11elle-
Unless you're ready to buy and trying to hammer down a rate (you're just test driving), don't give the dealership authorization to check your credit. Once you're working with a couple dealerships to figure out a rate, it's OK if they check your credit as long as they do it in the same 14 day period that you're shopping for rates.
Savvy
12Thanks Savvy!
I recently purchased a car, and it was def within a 14 day period, I was just worried because 4 different dealers checked my credit.
13good idea - i am adding this to my to-do list!
14Be sure to read the agreement VERY carefully if you use freecreditreport.com. They've been sued multiple times for misleading advertising, because they'll charge you $12/month for a credit-watching service, like the one ilanac13 mentioned.
15I have a WaMu credit card that has a credit score feature when I log into my account. It tells me my score, what helped it, and what hurt it. My score is 772, and according to them, the number of credit cards I have open works against me. Why is this and is this an accurate source since it's not one you listed?
16it's so time for me to do this again
17thanks for the reminder savvy
Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.