Obtain Free Credit Report
One of the most important ways to determine your financial standing is to obtain free credit report. By law a person is entitled to see his own credit report. The law which encompasses the existence of credit report is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This Act states that each of the three major credit reporting agencies are required to give consumers access to obtain free credit report once every 12 months. Anyone can obtain free credit report when they want to see their credit standing.
These credit reports may include a lot of personal information regarding your finances, sources of income and the like. Your identity can be validated through agencies and other government filings or public documents, public records on criminal and civil cases filed on against you regarding unpaid or unsettled loans or other obligations. It will also show your credit score, and your capacity and loan repayment habits and other expenditures.
For you to obtain free credit report you have to provide them with correct information first. In exchange for a free credit report from your company, you have to apply for a credit report for evaluation of your financial status. Keep in mind that every time a credit check is done by a loan company, a bank or any lending institution, your credit rating takes a hit and your score goes down by several points.
You can obtain free credit report from your credit companies. Some credit card companies include this as a service on top of credit card use. You would have to talk to your credit card company if you can have a free copy. You can ask for a copy of your credit report in various ways.
a. Through snail mail
Credit reports can be requested via mail. You can send out applications for your credit report together with all the pertinent information and documents needed. No need to send the originals, just the photocopies.
b. Through the Phone
You can obtain free credit reports by calling the customer service hotline of a credit agency. The report itself will be sent by mail within a few days.
c. Online Credit Report
You can obtain free credit reports through the internet. There are various websites which offer this service. For most of these websites, this is a free service. However, some of these reports are approximations of the standard reports from the credit bureaus.