Have you ordered your free credit report?
Never underestimate the importance of your credit report. Its contents determine what kinds of credit you qualify for, your interest rates, your insurance rates, and can even affect whether you get a particular job or qualify to rent an apartment or home. It’s vital that you check your credit report at a minimum once per year to verify its accuracy and to spot tell-tale signs of identity theft.
Any of the three credit reporting bureaus would be happy to sell you a copy of your credit report. But there’s no need to pay for a credit report when you can order one for free.
Free credit reports have been around for a while. However, they’re invariably linked to unwanted 30-day trial memberships to exorbitantly priced “credit monitoring” services that are nearly impossible to cancel. Don’t bother with these.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) entitles you to one free credit report every year, no strings attached. To help the credit reporting agencies cope with the demand for free reports, eligibility is being rolled out gradually by region starting in the west. By September 1, 2005, the east coast states will be eligible, entitling everyone in the United States to a free annual credit report.
As of June 1, 2005, you will be eligible for a free credit report if you live in one of the following states: Western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming); Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin); Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas).
You can order your free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. (You must type the URL into your web browser directly; they prohibit links from other websites.)
