If you are thinking about fixing bad credit or you want to know what your credit history is like then it's a good idea to take a look at your credit report. Looking at
your credit report gives you an idea of what a lender will see the next time you apply for a loan or mortgage.
A credit report is a register of a person's credit history and is made up of four categories of data:
• Identification Data - also known as the credit header data, this part includes name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
• Credit History - this contains a person's payment history and shows account status, credit limit or credit balance, monthly payment information etc.
• Public Records - this part of the report contains data on court judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, and collections.
• Inquiries - this section contains information about all other organisations or individuals who have looked at the file and for what purpose in the past six months.
It used to be law that everyone was entitled to at least one free credit report every 12 months. From then on you may have to pay, but this depends on which state you live in and how much you have to pay. This has now changed and people have to pay to get a copy of their credit report.
How you can get a free credit report
You can get hold of a free copy of your credit report if you have been recently turned down for credit.
When this happens, you receive a letter that explains why you were refused and the credit bureau used, and how to contact them to get a free report.
The three major credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Some may have more information than others and it's possible that one of the credit bureaus doesn't have any credit information on you at all, especially if you don't have a great deal of credit history.
You can purchase a 3-in-1 report which is basically getting all three reports from each of the credit bureaus. This is a good start especially if you have never seen your credit report before.
The final way to get a free credit report is if you have been a victim of fraud. If you believe there has been fraudulent activity on your credit report then you can write to the credit bureaus, explain to them the situation and request a free copy of your report.
You may want to be cautious if you are using fraud as an excuse to get a copy of the report because every time you do it a note goes on your report.
How to get a free credit report - Part 1
By Yvonne Lapp Cryns
credit or just want to know what a lender sees when you apply for loans or a mortgage, or you may just want to know what your own credit history looks like.
A credit report is made up of four categories of information that come from your credit history and includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. These categories are:
%u2022 Identification Information - This includes your name, address, social security number, and date of birth.%u2022 Credit History - This contains a your payment history and shows the status of the accounts, your credit limit or credit balance, your monthly payment information, and other information.%u2022 Public Records - This part includes information on any court judgments such as tax liens, bankruptcies, and collections.%u2022 Inquiries - This part of the report contains information about other entities or people who may have looked at your credit report in the past six months and why they looked at it.
Get a Free Credit Report
There are a number of reasons you may be entitled to a free credit report. Three of these ways are: 1) annually by federal law, 2) if you have been refused credit, and 3) if you have been a victim of fraud. In addition, residents of Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont have free access to their credit reports by their state laws.
1) Free by Federal Law
A federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. Each of these companies may have different information about you, so it is good to know what credit information they have on you. Once each year, you may order a credit report for free. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have a central website, toll-free phone number and a mailing address. You should not contact the reporting companies themselves to get the free annual reports.
How to get a free credit report - Part 2
By Yvonne Lapp Cryns
To order a free credit report, you may go to: annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.Anualcreditreport.com is the ONLY online authorized FREE source of credit reports. If you go elsewhere, you may be charged a fee!
You may request a report from each of the three companies at the same time, or you may order them one at a time, at different times. You may only request one free report from each company every 12 months.
2) Free If You're Turned down for CreditIf you are refused credit, you can get a free copy of your credit report. You will receive a letter that explains why you were refused, which credit company was used, and how to contact them to get a free report. You must request the free report within 60 days of getting the notice.
3) Free If You Are a Victim of Fraud
Lastly, if you are a victim of fraud, or identity theft, you may request a free credit report. If you believe there has been fraudulent activity that appears on your credit report, then you should report it. Write to the credit companies, explain the situation to them, and request a free copy of your report.
If you use fraud as an excuse to get a free copy, you should know that each time you do so, the credit company puts a note in your report about the suspicion of fraud.
Resources:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ycr_free_reports.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.shtm
ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit
Author Bio -
Yvonne Cryns is the owner of 2000CreditCardDebt.com
Yvonne is an experienced writer/researcher who will research and write articles for you. Her articles may NOT be used unless permission is ranted.
Contact Yvonne at wahmwed@yahoo.com.
Credit Repair - Easy As 1-2-3
Credit Repair - Easy As 1-2-3There are three ways to repair your credit. These are:
1. Repairing the bad credit you already have,
2. Building better credit by borrowing and paying for things in a sensible way,
3. Waiting for you bad credit to pass
Repairing you credit is surprisingly easy to do yourself. The best and cheapest way is to request a credit report from the three big credit companies. Once you receive your credit report, go through the items that you think are unfair or incorrect. Write a letter explaining why these items are
incorrect or unfair. The lending companies then have 30 days to respond to your disputes. If in this time they do not respond then it is possible the bad credit will be removed from your records. It may not be this simple for all your bad credit marks on your credit report, but keep in mind sometimes bad marks are put on there by mistake.
Building better credit is also very easy. All you have to do is to take out a loan and pay it back regularly until it is paid off. This builds confidence in your lenders that you are a sensible consumer. This can counterbalance the bad credit and will help a lot, especially when people have very little credit history. It may be as simple as taking out a few small loans and paying them back in a short timescale. All you have to remember that should you start missing payments on loan repayments, this will create bad marks against your credit record, so don't borrow unless you are confident you can pay it back.
Waiting for your bad credit history to pass is by far the easiest way, but also the most unproductive. Bad credit takes about seven years to clear. Once your credit history has been taken off your record, you'll have to start all over again.
So it is worthwhile to both repair your credit and build better credit because seven years is a long time to wait.
Don't Allow Debt Stress To Ruin Your Mental and Physical Health
Don't Allow Debt Stress To Ruin Your Mental and Physical HealthMany people think that debt is caused by people that just can't control their spending. This does happen but there are many other reasons why people suddenly find themselves in debt.
People in debt often think that they can't cope because there is no hope of getting out of their situation. If you find yourself in this situation then there are
actually a lot of thing you can do. The main thing is not to panic and take time to work it out making positive steps to helping yourself get out of debt.
The first thing to do is to be honest with your situation and find out exactly how much your debt you are in. You need to sit down and work out how much money you owe and how much you have to pay on a monthly basis. This includes all the things you buy. By looking at a bank statement for a typical month you will see the things you spend your money on. You then need to work out how much money you earn on a monthly basis. This will tell you if you are spending more than you earn. If you are breaking even or earning more then maybe you need to think about cutting back and putting some money aside to pay you debt off sooner. If you are earning less, and many people are, then you need to look at the things you pay for month by month and see where you can cut back. You may have to be a bit creative in finding ways of spending less every month.
Debt for some people can arrive suddenly if you have recently separated from you partner, or if you lose your job. If this is the case then the credit companies advise people to tell their lenders by sending a letter explaining their situation. This quite often helps because mortgage companies have great difficulty in taking money from people that simply don't have much. It is usually far better for them to work with you on helping you repay your debt so that they get their money, even if it takes them a bit longer. The three credit companies Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion give good advice about coping with debt.
So if you find yourself in debt, don't panic. Be honest with yourself about your situation and be constructive by thinking of the positive things you can do to help yourself get back on the right track.
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Credit Repair books at Amazon
Credit Repair
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 12/20/2009) 
Credit Repair Kit For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 12/20/2009)
BestCredit: How to Win the Credit Game, 2nd Edition
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 12/20/2009)
Frugality
The New Frugality: How to Consume Less, Save More, and Live Better
Amazon Price: $16.20 (as of 12/20/2009)
The Art of Frugality (Spending Strategies In A Tight Economy)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Political Frugality: Guerilla Economics for the Demonized, Devalued, And Disenfranchised And Money Saving Tips for Everyone Else
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New Link List
- Your Access to Free Credit Reports
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation's consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.
A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.
Here are the details about your rights under the FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which established the free annual credit report program.
