The Credit Reporting Agencies by Lisa Holton
There are three credit agencies that gather critical data about your use of credit. It's important for you to know that their information is not identical, and it is very easy for errors to creep in. The names and contact information of these agencies are as follows:
Equifax, www.equifax.com, (800) 685-1111
TransUnion, www.transunion.com, (800) 916-8800 or (800) 888-4213
Experian (formerly TRW), www.experian.com, (888) 397-3742
You can get each of your own credit reports for free once a year (go online to www.annualcreditreport.com), but beyond that, you'll have to pay for them. Once you apply for a loan, your lender will be ordering your credit reports for its own file, but they'll pass the fee on to you. If they're charging you more than $20 for a single report, you're being ripped off and you should demand they cut it or go to another lender.
When to Order Your Credit Reports
You're entitled to one free credit report from each agency every twelve months. The easiest way to get them is online through www.annualcreditreport.com. Don't order all three at the same time. Instead, make a note on your calendar to spread out each of the three deliveries so you get them throughout the year. Why? Because if inaccuracies turn up on one, you can correct it with the specific agency, which disseminates information to the other two. It's a good way to correct errors as they happen and make sure all three of your reports are accurate on an ongoing basis.
Again, make it a point to check who has been asking to see your credit report. An unusually high number of credit inquiries can actually lower your credit score.
