Does the information in your absolutely free credit report help you or hurt you? Your credit is
looked at when you apply for loans, insurance, employment and leases. The better your credit,
the greater number of opportunities open to you and the less you'll pay for credit and insurance.
Conversely, since negative information can stay on your credit report for 7 years or more, your
actions today might have a long term impact on your life. So knowing both what's in your
absolutely free credit report and knowing how to correct or improve it, is important.
One of the reasons that you're able to get an absolutely free credit report is because of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act(FCRA). The FCRA regulates how consumer reporting agencies
maintain credit files and establishes certain rights for individuals with respect to their
credit report.
- You have the right to see a copy of your credit report.
- You have the right to see who has requested your report in the last year.
- If a company denies you credit based on a credit report, they are required to give you
the name and address of the credit reporting agency that supplied the report.
- You have the right to get a free copy of your credit report within 60 days of being denied
credit because of information in that particular report.
- When there's incorrect or incomplete information in your credit report, you have the right
to get the reporting agency to investigate and correct all non-frivolous items.
- If a disputed item isn't resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to have a 100
word explanation of your position added to your credit report.
With all the information in your absolutely free credit report it may seem confusing. But
there's no real secret to what makes good credit. Lenders want to see a history of paying
your bills on time. So if you should get behind, the first thing to do is find a way to get
current on the account. And don't repay the debt by opening a new account. Instead, ask the
creditor if you can modify the payment plan to an affordable level and the account will show
up on your credit report as being paid on time. Lenders also like to see low balances in your
accounts, so your credit rating will improve if you pay down high balances.
To get your absolutely free credit report and free 30 days of credit monitoring, please go to
free instant credit reports.
