You do not have to pay anyone to see your own credit reports. Federal law gives you free reports from each of the three nationwide bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – and the bureaus have permanently extended free weekly access online.
Use the one authorized site
AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized by federal law to fill orders for these free reports. The Federal Trade Commission warns that impostor sites use similar names and misspellings, may charge fees, and may collect your personal information. Type the address yourself instead of following a link from an email, ad or text, and never give a credit card for a federally authorized free report.
What to check on each report
Each bureau keeps its own file, so the three reports do not always match. Work through one bureau at a time and look for accounts you do not recognize, balances or payment histories that look wrong, addresses that are not yours, and inquiries you did not authorize. Unknown accounts are the most urgent find: they can be a sign of identity theft.
If you find an error
Dispute the error with the bureau that issued the report, and with the company that furnished the information. Keep copies of everything you send. Checking your own reports never hurts your credit score, and reports do not include a score – they are the underlying record that scores are built from.
Make it a habit
Because weekly access is permanent, the simplest routine is a short standing check: pull one bureau’s report, scan it for anything unfamiliar, and rotate. Small errors are far easier to fix when you catch them the week they appear.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission: Free Credit Reports (Consumer Advice)
- Federal Trade Commission: You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports
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