Everyone is entitled to a FREE annual credit report from the primary credit reporting agencies and you may want to advise your clients of this. Reviewing these reports allows people to spot errors and verify what is being reported to creditors. It also helps to prevent fraud.
Although the frequent TV commercials you may have seen with the catchy tune asks folks to go to a different web site, the official web site for this truly FREE request is www.annualcreditreport.com. People may request a free report from each of the 3 agencies every 12 months. They may also request a credit score at a nominal charge, but this is not required.
Since there are 3 different credit reporting agencies and you can only get 1 report from each per year, I always recommend my clients request one report from each company every 4 months. This allows the company to make any changes needed with time for them to be reflected on the next requested FREE report from one of the other companies. Four months after the 3rd report is received, they can request a report from the 1st company again since 12 months will have passed. Staggering requests for FREE credit reports in this manner provides a snapshot of an individual's credit standing on 3 occasions throughout each year.
Of course, doing this yourself is always advisable and it will also help you get familiar with the reporting formats in case clients have any questions about their own credit reports.
Scott F. Soape
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