How to Get Your Free Credit Report - Really Free!

1.             Review
the following information from the Federal Trade Commission.

Source:  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

2.            
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.

3.             A
credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and
whether you’ve been sued or arrested, or have 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.

4.             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.

5.             Question:
How do I order my free report?

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies
have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing
address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit 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. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from
ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting
companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only
through annualcreditreport.com,
1-877-322-8228, and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281,
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You may order your reports from each of the three
nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your
report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order
one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting
companies every 12 months.

6.             A
Warning About “Imposter” Websites

Only one website is authorized to fill orders for
the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law —
annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit
reports,” “free credit scores” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the
legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free”
product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a
supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial
period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing
to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.

Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report”
in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com
in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these
“imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or
collect your personal information.

Annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer
reporting companies will not send you an email asking for your personal
information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from
someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com or any of the three
nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in
the message. It’s probably a scam. Forward any such email to the FTC at
spam@uce.gov.

7.             Question:
What information do I need to provide to get my free report?

You need to provide your name, address, Social
Security number, and date of birth. If you have moved in the last two years,
you may have to provide your previous address. To maintain the security of your
file, each nationwide consumer reporting company may ask you for some
information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage
payment. Each company may ask you for different information because the
information each has in your file may come from different sources.

8.             If
students have access to computers and they are at least 13 years of age, they can
order their credit reports.  If students
cannot access individual reports, click on the link to the sample credit report
from Experion. (http://www.experian.com/credit_report_basics/pdf/samplecreditreport.pdf)

Review the sample report, identifying the
information it includes.

NOTE:   The
free credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.Com do not include FICO or other
credit scores.  For more about credit
scores, go to the “My FICO”
site: http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/creditscores.aspx