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.

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.

Here’s the info you need:

• 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

Don’t Fall for Other Offers

Remember, the only place you should be looking for your reports online is annualcreditreport.com. Since the pandemic, you’ve been able to check your reports as often as every week for free.

Don’t fall for any other sites that claim they can provide you with a free credit report. 

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.