Credit Scores and Reports

August 30th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under • by Debbie Dragon

By law, you’re entitled to a copy of your credit report from each of the consumer reporting companies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) once every twelve months. This is stated under The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA is intended to promote privacy of information and accuracy in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies.

When you get your credit report, you’ll view things like information pertaining to your address, a record of how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy.

The credit reporting companies sell the information to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses looking to hire you for a job, lend you money, rent you a home or provide insurance for you.

What you don’t get is a free copy of your credit score… the nifty little number that most creditors rely on when making a decision to extend you credit or not.

For the next six months, however, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report AND credit score, thanks to a class action lawsuit against TransUnion. For the next six months, you can request and receive free credit reports and scores as often as you want as part of the settlement.