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Know what is on your credit report by going to www.annualcreditreport.com
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will provide you with a free report once a year. So every 4 months go and ask them for a free report.
If you find errors make sure to challenge the error and ask them to remove the bad mark on your credit. If this doesn't work take them to small claim court on the county were where the party lives or does business
Use other agencies to complain related to the issue at hand like the state insurance department, american dental association (for a dentist), american medical association (for a doctor)
You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports: Did you know that you can check your credit report once weekly with all three credit reporting agencies? Equifax, Transunion, and Experian have a permanent program allowing users to check their credit report once a week for free.
You can request free copies of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com. Be wary of scams and websites charging you for copies.
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How to Monitor Your Credit Reports for Free
The Difference Between a Hard Inquiry and a Soft Inquiry on Your Credit Report
How To Dispute an Error on Your Credit Report and Win
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Contact information for the 3 credit counseling agencies here
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How to Get a Free Credit Report
Disputing and Correcting Credit Report Errors
Should You Pay for Credit Monitoring?
You can get a free credit report once a year if you log on to www.annualcreditreport.com
A credit report is a summary that contains 1) personal information: your name, social security, current and previous addresses, DOB, telephone numbers, driver’s license, current and previous employers and your spouse’s name. 2) your credit history: name of all creditors and their account numbers, the kind of credit, total owe, total pay, current payments and how well you, the borrower has paid the account 3) public records: bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens 4) inquiries: lists everyone who has asked to see your credit report. Check your credit report at least once a year to make sure all these information is correct because this information is the basis of your credit score or FICO score (see below about FICO score).
Your credit report affects your ability to get a loan or job, and could help you avoid identity theft. You can get a truly free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
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Disputing and Correcting Credit Report Errors
The Easiest Ways to Monitor Your Credit for Free
The Pros & Cons of Freezing Your Credit Report: Is It Really Worth It?
How to dispute an error on your credit report and win - Clark Howard
Why It's Still So Hard to Fix Credit Report Errors - Consumer Reports
To protect yourself from identity theft just freeze your credit file. When you freeze your file nobody (not even you) can use it to open a new account. You can lift the freeze temporarily if you want to apply for a mortgage, car loan or new credit card. To freeze your file you will have to notify all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). The procedures are different in each state, so find your state at www.consumerunion.org/securityfreeze.htm and follow the steps outlined.
Other ways of knowing if things are OK with your credit for free:
Credit Karma It is best known as a free credit and financial management platform, but its features also include free tax preparation, monitoring of unclaimed property databases and a tool to identify and dispute credit report errors.
Credit Sesame can be very effective for gaining regular access to your credit information at no cost. If you’re about to apply for credit, you certainly don’t want to depend on your credit score as absolute.
Check your existing credit cards... now they are offering free credit scores
Credit Score Card is provided by Discover Bank, and includes a FICO ® Credit Score and other credit information. Credit Scorecard information is based on data from Experian and may differ from credit scores and credit information provided by other credit bureaus.
Beware… lots of websites that tout free reports try to rope you into paying for a credit-monitoring service. Skip them. If you go to www.annualcreditreport.com , three companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) will provide you with a free report once a year. If you want to, you can get one every four months by requesting a report from each one of these companies every quarter. That way you check for accuracy yourself every four months for free!!
It is common to find errors on your credit report. If you find something wrong you need to file a dispute with the credit issues and the credit bureau at the same time. When sending the dispute do ti by certified mail return receipt requested along with any documetn needed. If they dont fix the problem, resubmit the dispute with the bureau a 2nd time... if all fails... sue both in small claim court or file a complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
How to dispute credit report information that can’t be confirmed
Common errors people find on their credit report - and how to get them fixed
How to Clear Old Debt From Your Credit Report
6 Stealthy Credit Report Errors You Can Quickly Eliminate
What are common credit report errors that I should look for on my credit report?
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion began offering consumers nationwide the option of freezing their credit reports. With a security freeze, lenders and businesses cannot get access to your credit files or scores without your authorization. This means they aren't likely to issue new credit. That in turn greatly reduces the chance that a thief will be able to get credit in your name and damage your credit profile. For details on security freeze laws, use Consumers Union's Guide to Security Freeze Protection at http://www.FinancialPrivacyNow.org. Consumers Union has compiled a detailed list of each state's law, including when and how you can lift the freeze. The site also provides direct links to the three credit bureaus' security freeze information. Just be sure to double-check with each bureau when placing a security freeze to make sure you are sending the right information. To implement a freeze, you will have to send a certified letter to each of the three major credit bureaus. When applying for a security freeze, you get a PIN (personal identification number) or password, which you will need to use to lift the freeze from your file. The security freeze will remain in place until you request that it be permanently removed or temporarily lifted for a specific time or for a particular creditor or company (for example, an employer or landlord wanting to check your credit history).
You can also go to www.defendyourdollars.org/topic/privacy for instructions about putting a security freeze on your credit files.
How to Background Check Your Specialty Consumer Reports With all these specialty consumer reporting agencies, it is now possible for you to give your finances a background check. You can find out what other companies and people can learn about you and your money… and more importantly, fix any errors. Other people are doing this to learn more about you and make certain decisions, you need to check up on this to make sure what they see is accurate.
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