Free credit report

[ampersat]

I've seen my credit report before when I was signing papers for mortgages and such. It was pretty confusing. The simplest part to read on the whole thing was the credit score.

I'm getting ready to pull my free credit report. You get a free one each year but I believe it doesn't include your credit score (which I really couldn't care less about these days).

Anybody else do this before? What sorts of things should I be looking for? Any help decoding it would be greatly appreciated.

[happybrew]

Look for revolving credit accounts which you paid off long ago which are still showing as open. Write to the addresses shown and request that they close the account like they should have when you paid it off. Credit limits are often treated like debt on your credit score.

happybrew

[Pete]

Before you do the online thing, drop a note to fishbait and ask about what he might be able to do. If there's anyone on Ifish that understands credit and has the ability to pull a report, fishbait is the one you want to talk to.

[Radke]

I got mine several months back. I really struggled to actually get it because the web site was having a difficult time authenticating who I was. They wanted things like your street address and previous employer. The problem was that the information they had was so old, when I put in the correct information, it wouldn't match up. I ended up calling the number and eventually got authenticated and got the reports.

As far as interpreting them, there wasn't much to worry about. They would list most of my accounts, say there were no 30, 60, 90+ day late payments, and that payments were made as agreed. Pretty simple to figure out. And your right, they didn't give you your FICO score, which I was really interested in. I could have got it, but not for free.

[RogueFishr]

I work in the mortgage lending business also, and have a PDF booklet that explains about credit scores and how they work. PM me an email address if you want it and I will send it over.

RF

[JustCallMeDave]

I have no answer for you, Doug. I just want to thank you for properly using the term "couldn't care less".

[wannacatchem]

Fishbait (Steve) told me the name of the site you should use, and now I can't remember it.
PM him and I'm sure he'll tell you.

With this website, you can pull your report three times a year, instead of once. You pull one from each reporting company (there are three) every 4 months. That way you can get a free report on a regular basis to watch your credit for any irregular items without having to pay.

[Mark Mc]

That "free credit report dot com" is a mixture of....some helpful info + a thinly veiled sales pitch.

As you said, they don't give you your actual credit score. They want you to pay for that. So now you will be hounded mercilessly by emails...begging you to sign up & pay. Once you sign up for the "free" part, good luck gettingthe e mails to stop

As always, there is no free lunch; especially if the deal seems too good to be true.

[fishbait]

The site you want to use is

www.annualcreditreport.com

If you wanty some help figuring out what it all means, fax me a copy and we can go over it together.

Happy New Year

FB