Credit Reporting Websites - Choosing a Reliable Provider
If you are currently looking for a website to provide you with credit reporting or monitoring services, our advice would be that you do so with great care and caution. Whilst the majority of websites out there offering credit score services are highly reliable - there are always the odd few which do nothing to add to the reputation of the industry on the whole.
How Identity Theft Can Affect Your Credit Score
We've all heard of the impending threat of identity theft, especially in today's modern electronic world. Whenever we hear the term, we automatically think of people sitting in a dark room, in a far away country - counting the pennies from people who they have successfully scammed.
Credit Scorecards - What Are They and Who Uses Them?
Don't mistake a credit score for a credit scorecard - they are not the same thing. In this article, we will take a look at the difference between these two things - both of which are reports - but both of which serve a different purpose.
What Do I Need To Know About My Credit Report?
With the economic crisis, more and more people became unable to pay their debts. The term of “credit report” is being used more and more in the media these days. But what’s there to know about a credit report? Here are some of the basic facts.
What my credit report contains
The credit report is basically a credit history. It centralizes data from a wide range of sources and gives an overview of your credit-wise trustworthiness as a person. It contains a history of unauthorized overdraws and late payments to your credit cards, insurance policies, utilities, phone bills or mortgages.
Who has access to my credit report
Long story short, anyone with a “legitimate business need” can request a copy of your credit report. This includes, but is not limited to:
- financial institutions where you have applied for a loan;
- companies who have already offered you credit and need extra information for monitoring purposes;
- insurance companies, when signing up for a new policy;
- landlords;
- mobile telephony providers, when applying for a postpaid plan;
- current and also possible employers—when applying for a job—with your consent.
How I can get a copy of my credit report
You are offered one free copy of your credit report every year. Quite often, however, you can’t afford to wait for several months before the year is due and you can avail a new one, so you would have to use a paid service. You can get a report from any of the three credit reporting agencies. Contact them directly.
Dealing with errors in my credit report
At times, it can happen that your credit report contains erroneous information. This can include amounts that have been reported as unpaid and have been taken care of in the mean time or simply debts that aren’t yours. Contact the creditor directly, dispute the transaction, and have them notify all three credit reporting agencies once the dispute is through.
Freezing my credit report
Several states in the US allow people under certain circumstances to “freeze” access to their credit reports. This means they can be accessed under very limited conditions. Such a service is usually available only to victims of an identity theft, but regulations may differ from one state to another.