The credit report contains all the vital information about your financial history. It states your financial behavior how much you owe, how punctual are you in paying your debts and so on. Having a spotless credit report will work on your advantage because it will make it easier for you to apply for a loan or a credit card. On the other hand if you have a bad credit report then not many banks will be willing to work with you because the risk involved will be too much. If a bank decides to work with you will be required to pay a security deposit. There are some financial institutions who welcome those with bad credit report and they do not ask for security but they charge a very high interest rate. A credit report will also contain information of your physical address, if you have been arrested or any case of bankruptcy.
This information on your credit report is highly confidential but consumer reporting companies are legalized by law to sell this information to your potential creditors, insurers, and other businesses who want to do business with you. They need this information to evaluate if you can qualify for a credit card, mortgage, insurance or employment. You can order your free annul credit report via the nationwide companies mandated to do so. You are allowed to order only your credit report only once per year if you need it often then you will have to pay for it. There are websites who claim they can send you free credit reports, be very cautious when dealing with such websites. Most of these sites are out there to get your money and they might try to collect personal information. Avoid such websites at all costs
When ordering for your free credit report you need to provide some information like, name, address, date of birth, and social security number. For security purpose the nationwide reporting company will at times ask you a question that only you can know the answer. Once you get your annual credit report you need to do the following, make sure all the information is correct and up to date. It’s common to see credit report littered with errors such as typing errors and suspicious account activities. Checking for accuracy will help you detect the possibility of identity theft which is very common these days. Once you detect anomalies in your account information you should report it immediately.
Updating and checking your credit report is very important especially when you are about to ask for a big loan of a car or a house. After requesting your credit report it takes about 25 days to reach you by mail but if you go directly to the webpage you can view your credit report almost immediately but after you have verified yourself. There are other situations that entitle you a free credit like when a company or a bank denies your application for a loan or credit. You should get the report within 60 days after the rejection.