Best way to get a credit report?

[zambo]

What's the best way to get a credit report? Any recommendations?

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[naru]

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp (all 3 agencies)

it's a legit site found on the FDC website

you can do it free for once a year

if you already used your free credit check for a year, and your credit rating is not so great, you can apply for a high end platinum cc and get rejected. by law, they have to provide you a free credit check if you request it.

 

[kate_g]

if you already used your free credit check for a year, and your credit rating is not so great, you can apply for a high end platinum cc and get rejected. by law, they have to provide you a free credit check if you request it.

Now that is a scam of the system that I can get behind. Too funny!

(OP: I think I used that freecreditreport site and got credit reports once. Be aware that they may make it incredibly difficult for you to just get the free report, and try to con you into clicking on buttons that will sign you up for a "credit monitoring" service or whatever. And the free reports might not contain the all-important "credit score" number, only a listing of all of your accounts and payment status and recent inquiries and whatnot. I'm not saying you shouldn't use it, just pay attention when you're on the site or you'll find yourself signed up for something you didn't mean to agree to.)

 

[naru]

while we are on the topic, there's been reports of even torn up pre-approved credit card applications approved (even with the phone number and billing address changed). check here

so buy yourself a shredder or opt out for pre-approved credit cards (forever by mail or 5 years by phone/internet).

edit: here's the ftc site link just in case your paranoid about putting your personal information on a site you got from some random guy

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/prescreen.htm

 

[Khenon]

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp (all 3 agencies)

I used this site to get my 1 free report from each agency for the year. It was very easy . . . and free.

 

[etf]

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if you already used your free credit check for a year, and your credit rating is not so great, you can apply for a high end platinum cc and get rejected. by law, they have to provide you a free credit check if you request it.

don't do this, as getting denied credit will invariably lower whatever score you receive. if you've got some loose ethics, you can basically lie to the credit agency and say you were denied for credit even if you never applied - like go to the experian website, and say that you are requesting it because you were denied like housing somewhere (just make up a name).

 

[mshheaddoc]

don't do this, as getting denied credit will invariably lower whatever score you receive. if you've got some loose ethics, you can basically lie to the credit agency and say you were denied for credit even if you never applied - like go to the experian website, and say that you are requesting it because you were denied like housing somewhere (just make up a name).

I don't know how you can do this since every creditor is recorded who makes an inquiry and they can verify this. Although not every creditor will report to the top 3 credit agencies you are taking your chances lying for a credit report. I would not suggest trying to scam the system.

I have used sites where I got all 3 credit reports to compare and my score for about $30. I usually do this once a year or two. I also have a credit card that gives me free credit score monitoring.

 

[DrBorisCA]

Hi all,

Im new to the financial aid world. How exactly does your credit score affect aid you can get. I am only applying for loans and probably will not be eligible to get grants or scholarships. I understand there is a fixed 6.8% interest rate for Class of 2010 students? Can credit score affect this rate?

 

[tinkerbelle]

Hi all,

I understand there is a fixed 6.8% interest rate for Class of 2010 students? Can credit score affect this rate?

Nope, the 6.8% rate is for everybody taking out the sub & unsub stafford loans, regardless of your credit score.

 

[TommyGunn04]

if you're also interested in your credit score - which as you probably know dictates your ability to get a loan and affects your borrowing amount, rate and terms - you can go to www.myfico.com and get a copy of your credit report(s) AND score(s). It's around $10-13 each, depending on what discount coupon code you can find. If you want all three reports and scores they usually offer a discount too. But if you just want to see your report and make sure there are no errors, you probably don't need your score. That said, I think it's very important to have a rough idea of your score WELL AHEAD of when you'd be applying for a car loan or mortgage. This way, if you find a mistake or just find that your credit score is low because you've had a history of late payments, etc., then you have a few years to straighten things out. Unfortunately it takes many months and often even years to get errors fixed, and even longer to raise your score if you have a history of some delinquencies.

 

[BiOGoly]

if you're also interested in your credit score - which as you probably know dictates your ability to get a loan and affects your borrowing amount, rate and terms - you can go to www.myfico.com and get a copy of your credit report(s) AND score(s). It's around $10-13 each, depending on what discount coupon code you can find. If you want all three reports and scores they usually offer a discount too. But if you just want to see your report and make sure there are no errors, you probably don't need your score. That said, I think it's very important to have a rough idea of your score WELL AHEAD of when you'd be applying for a car loan or mortgage. This way, if you find a mistake or just find that your credit score is low because you've had a history of late payments, etc., then you have a few years to straighten things out. Unfortunately it takes many months and often even years to get errors fixed, and even longer to raise your score if you have a history of some delinquencies.

Getting your FICO score from www.myfico.com is a great idea as individual reports from the 3 credit agencies us proprietary calculations for a score, and most lenders use FICO scores. I would advise getting your FICO scores from all three agencies at least 3 months prior to applying for a loan. I read somewhere that over 80% of credit reports contain at least one error or discrepency, and sometimes this can make a big difference in the score. Also, despite the instantaneous electronic world we live in, it can take more than a month for changes in revolving credit accounts to be fully updated. When I received my FICO scores a few weeks ago it listed balances that I had transfered or paid off the previous month, making my total revolving credit debt twice what it really was. I also found a small government loan I had consolidated a year before was still listed as not consolidated.

It's up to YOU to correct any mistakes in your credit history, and these mistakes can make a big difference in your score. I'm probably going to check my FICO reports annually from now on.

 

[centralo]

There are plenty of credit monitoring services on the web. To view your reports with the big 3 (EX, TU, EQ) you should just get a hardcopy from each company. Send a letter saying that you were recently denied credit due to something in your credit report and you'd like a copy. It's no big deal and you could request copies frequently without any issue.

If you are interested in scores, your FICO score is the only "true" score. Other services use proprietary models that are not based on the FICO (Fair Issac) model. The Fair Issac model is considered the industry standard and is the closest to scoring models used by mortgage lenders. To get your FICO score, go to myfico.com. To monitor credit score TRENDS, use a service that allows daily or monthly pulls of your credit reports/scores (fako not FICO) such as Truecredit.

 

[drengineer]

Dude.... you are entitled to a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion by federal law. This means you can get three free credit reports each year. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com

And also you don't have enroll in anything. This is a government website i believe.

 

[faviola]

What's the best way to get a credit report? Any recommendations?

you can get a free credit report ..however they do not give you a score..they just let you view your history for free..you have to pay to see your actual score...try equifax