By Lynda Spence, Family & Consumer Sciences Extension Agent at UF/IFAS Extension-Marion County

Reviewed by Martie Gillen, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida

Did you know that March is Credit Education Month? There’s no better time to educate yourself about your credit file. Have a look! The great news is, it won’t cost you a dime.

Check Your Report

Each of the nationwide consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) is required to provide you with one free copy of your credit report once every 12 months upon your request. The three Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA) share a central website, AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can order your report electronically. Alternatively, you can print out the Annual Credit Report Request Form found on the website and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You can also order reports by phone at 1-877-322-8228.

If, for whatever reason, your credit file is not active, you may be unable to retrieve your report electronically. Don’t let this discourage you. Follow through and order it by mail.

Every consumer should regularly examine his or her credit report. Check each line for accuracy. One misspelled word or transposed number can result in headaches down the road.

Verify your personal information:

• Name
• Social Security Number
• Addresses
• Employment information

Verify the lender’s information:

• Do the balances make sense?
• Does the listed past high balance makes sense?
• Is the payment history accurate?
• Is the account yours, or are you listed on it?

If any of these items are inaccurate, contact the creditor. You can do this from their website.

Monitor Every Four Months

Because there are three different reporting agencies, rotate your requests to receive a new report every four months. For example, start by ordering a free credit report from Trans Union. Four months and one day later, order a report from Experian. Four months and one day after that, order your report from Equifax. By this time, a calendar year will have passed, making you eligible to receive a new free credit report from Trans Union, and so on. Make necessary corrections on each one as you go. Note that there will be a fee if you order more than one report per year from a single agency, and that there is a charge to obtain your FICO score.

By federal law, you’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; if you are on welfare; or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. You’re also entitled to a free report if a company takes “adverse action” against you due to your credit score, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment. If this happens to you, ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting agency that issued the credit report.

Credit Score

If you are curious about your actual three-digit FICO score, you will have to pay. To learn more about credit scores, refer to You and Your Credit: Credit Scores, from UF-EDIS. And check out the entire “You and Your Credit” series, also available in Spanish.

(Photo credit: Chocolate eyes by Christian Guthier. CC BY 2.0.)

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