Steps for Checking Your Credit Reports

Checking your credit reports should be a regular part of your financial life.

Why Should I Check My Report Regularly?

When you check your report, you can:

• Find — and correct — errors. Removing errors will then boost your score.
• Detect identity theft attempts (and sometimes evidence of actual identity theft)
• Implement security measures in place to put a stop to theft.
• Track your individual progress and financial goals.

Bottom line? You should be checking your report often. Here’s how to do just that.

Contact the Bureaus

There are three major credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You have a report with each of them, so you need to check all three. That might sound complicated, but you don’t have to contact each bureau for your reports. Instead, there is one website, one phone number, or one mailing address for all three. You can get your reports via any of them.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government bureau set up for consumer financial protectcion recommends the following:

• Website: Annualcreditreport.com
• Phone: 1-877-322-822
• Mail: If you want a copy of your report mailed to you, you must first fill out this report request, and then mail it to:
• Annual Credit Report Request Service
  P.O. Box 105281
  Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Be Cautious

The CFPB provided the following warning about free credit report scams:

“Be cautious of websites that claim to offer free credit reports. Some of these websites will only give you a free report if you buy other products or services. Other websites give you a free report and then bill you for services you have to cancel. To get the free credit report authorized by law, go to annualcreditreport.com.”

Online Banking Access

Many online banks have a free credit report or credit check feature. Check with your financial institution for details. SavvyMoney customers can check their score and report for free with no impact to their score, along with goal and planning tools, 24/7 through their online or mobile banking.

Free for All

As noted above, you can check your credit report weekly online for free. You can also check it via hard copies once per year for free.

Do One Thing: Make checking your credit report a part of your financial life. Set a reminder to check it at least once every three to four months.