News - Free Yearly Credit Report

What do you do now that you have your credit report

June 20, 2009

Last week I gave you some information on ordering your free credit report. If you had the opportunity to order yours, what's the next step?

First, remain calm and don't panic. The first thing you might notice is the company does not give you your credit. The FACTA Law did not require that it disclose those scores to you. To get those, you must pay for them. However, in an attempt to avoid identity theft, all you need to concern yourself with are errors or misreporting on your report.

If you have not ordered your report yet, go online to www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't confuse this with the ads you see for "Free Credit Report.com." You'll just end up paying for the same service there.

Can you read your credit report?

If you are like most of the people I talk to every day, it almost seems a credit report is like reading a foreign language. There are all kinds of dates, listings and dollar amounts printed everywhere on the report. Where do you begin? Just relax, sit back with a fresh cup of coffee and benefit from my years of sweating, swearing and head scratching. I've managed to get the process down to a few simple steps.

# First step: Ordering the credit report to read.

Again, you actually need to take the time and contact all three agencies and have them send you a report. Each credit-reporting agency will have special toll-free numbers for this process.

This is the most difficult step for most people, biting the bullet and ordering one. You no longer can make the excuse that you refuse to pay for the reports. This is an intimidating prospect for many people, because your past mistakes are right there, in black and white, staring you in the face.

Once you have the credit report in front of you, it's time to tackle it piece by piece.

# Second step: Read who the companies are on the credit report.

It's tempting to look at the numbers first because there are so many of them there. Resist the temptation and look at the company names first.

This is where confusion really sets in. It's simply because companies change ownership and names often. You might wonder why ABC Credit Card is listed when you never had a card with that company. First, it might be a mistake, which needs to be addressed, but more than likely, it is simply a name change and you actually owed them money at one point.

Sometimes it is difficult getting in touch with these companies because phone numbers aren't always provided, and writing to them can take months. Get on the Internet and do some research on these companies. Try to locate a phone number or other contact information. Call them. This might be the only way to make sure you actually owe the money that is reported.

# Third step: When reading your credit report, check the numbers and dates.

Once you've identified all the companies that claim you owe them money and verified that they are legitimate companies, your next step is to make sure the amounts owed and dates are correct. Don't assume the dollar amounts on the credit report are correct. While you have the companies on the phone, ask them the amounts owed.

Next week I will offer you some more tips on reading your credit report. The biggest thing I can stress right now is don't be afraid to order your report. Too many people are being ripped off in today's world by identity theft, and unfortunately it falls to you to catch that as soon as you can.

When the time comes for you to buy a new home or do a refinance of a current mortgage, any professional loan officer will do a free credit analysis for you. If they aren't doing that for you, call me. I read each report carefully for my clients. The reports are crammed full of information and it's easy to glance over potential errors. Don't pay them for this service. I have all kinds of tips and information available for you to help increase your scores.

The bottom line on credit reports is this: Time is money. The more time invested in carefully reading your credit report or letting a professional analyze it will save you money in interest rates you qualify for.

Sourece: http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090620/NEWS01/906200322