How a good credit score can save you money and how to improve your credit score
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Your Access to Free Credit Reports
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s consumer reporting companies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies.
A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.
Here are the details about your rights under the FCRA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act, which established the free annual credit report program.
Q: How do I order my free report?
A: The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.
To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call , or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is on the back of this brochure; or you can print it from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through annualcreditreport.com, , and Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
You may order your reports from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies at the same time, or you can order your report from each of the companies one at a time. The law allows you to order one free copy of your report from each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies every 12 months.
How a good credit score can save you money and how to improve your credit score
If you have ever applied for a loan (mortgage, home equity loan, auto loan, personal loan, credit card etc.) then you already know how important it is to have a good credit rating (FICO score).
Before credit lenders approve or decline your loan request they check you credit history with the following credit agencies to determine your credit risk:
Equifax
Trans Union
Experian
Your credit report usually lists the following information:
Personal information: (your full name, current address, Social Security number, date of birth, employment information).
Information about your credit accounts (credit cards, car loans, mortgages, lines of credit and other credit accounts. It includes the dates that accounts were opened and closed, current balances, maximum credit limit and how often you were late making payments, or if any accounts were charged off).
Information about requests for your report as a result of your having applied for credit, or requests that were made by others (for example: credit card companies, or other financial institutions ) to make you a pre-approved offer of credit , during the last 2 years,.
It also lists information about(Bankruptcies, foreclosures, lawsuits, liens, wage attachments, court judgments) if it applies.
Some lenders make a determination by your FICO score. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. The higher your score-the easier it is to get credit and of course lower scores make it a lot more difficult to get credit and if you get one, the interest rate will be rather high.
Your credit score will be lower if you have missed payments or made late payments, if account balances are high, if you have too many recent enquires or if there is simply an error in your report.
There are ways to improve your credit rating. First of all, order you credit report and make sure that there are no mistakes and all information posted is accurate,
Make payments on time, lower your balances, and don’t apply for more credit.
These steps will gradually improve your credit rating. This will not happen overnight. It make take months, and may even be years but it is all worth your effort.
Links to My Other Hubs about Personal Finance
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prettydarkhorse
thanks for your comment
Great informative hub you've provided here Karina. Credit scores are no doubt a very important aspect in our daily lives.
Miltimastery, thanks for your kind comments. I love personal finance topic, and for sure will be writing more.
Thanks again.
Great post Karina. Thank you!
Here is an example of a debt settlement company:
National Debt Relief Group
XS13, thanks for your comment and suggestion.
Hi Karina, while a good credit score can be important, the method that finance companies recommend to get one is a sccam. The scam is that you go into debt so that you can then go into more debt. This is a trap for many people. Pay your rent and utitilities and you should do fine.
bgamall, thanks for your comments
prettydarkhorse Level 2 Commenter 2 years ago
these are very nice advices Karina, continue writing hubs like this, I wish many can read this,