You Should Read Your Credit Report at Least Once a Year

So, what’s the big deal about credit reports? How often do you pull or look at your credit report? Why is it important to look at your credit report? I will explain the importance of reviewing your credit report on an annual basis and explain how you can do it for FREE.
Let’s get started. Credit reports are a history of your whole credit life and show how well you’re managing your credit. Your credit score is an indicator of how well you’re managing your credit. Most individuals don’t think about their credit report and credit score unless they are about to buy something on credit. Of course most individuals also want to have a great credit score so that they can get better APRs and maybe have more buying power.
Let’s say you went in to a store and tried to purchase an item by opening a new account, but you got declined because of your credit. You say to yourself, “How can that be? I have great credit.” More than likely you haven’t reviewed your credit report on a regular basis and you actually could have been a victim of ID Theft which is bringing down your credit score.
This is why it is so important to view your credit report on a regular basis.By reading your credit report, you can see if someone has fraudulently opened accounts in your name. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistic (a division of the Dept. Of Justice), 16.1 million Americans were a victim of ID Theft in 2012. By reviewing your credit report regularly, you can’t stop someone from opening an account in your name, but you can prevent the problem from getting worse.
When reviewing your credit report, you’re not only checking for ID Theft, but you also want to look to see if your current creditors are reporting information accurately. You may have a creditor that is reporting you are 3 months behind on a bill, but in actuality you are not. This of course will bring your score down as well. As you can see, it is extremely important to view your credit report at least once a year.
Did you know that everyone is entitled to a FREE credit report every year? Thanks to the Fair and Accurate Transaction Act, you are allowed one free credit report every year from all 3 credit bureaus. This credit report will not contain a credit score; unfortunately you do have to pay for that. You can simply go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228 to obtain your credit report.
If you have never read a credit report before, it can be very confusing and frustrating. Here at Apprisen, we offer a Credit Health Education session where we pull a report from all 3 credit bureaus, teach you how to read it, explain what makes up a credit score, go through your report, and check for any inaccuracies and develop a game plan on what you can do to rebuild your score. Please visit our website at www.apprisen.com to view other services we offer or to schedule an appointment.