Check Your Credit Report Free 3 Times Per Year
I got an email this morning from Zander Insurance – my identity theft plan where I pay $12.50 a month for my whole family.
They provided great information and a reminder on how to check my credit report for free 3 times per year. Here is a portion of that email:
As a member of the Zander Insurance ID Experts Identity Theft Plan, we want to remind you that you should check your credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus. Accessing your credit report throughout the year may help detect identity theft issues. Federal Law provides that each credit bureau must provide you a copy of your credit report once a year at no charge. Please order one report at a time so that you can access your free credit report three times annually. Your spouse is eligible for the same protective services and checking both of your reports, if applicable, is highly recommended.
You can place your request at www.annualcreditreport.com. To request a copy in writing, please complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
PO BOX 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281You may request a child’s report by completing this form as well; you cannot request a minor’s report online. Be aware that most minor children will not have a credit file on record with the credit bureaus. You may also complete your requests via phone by calling 877-322-8228.
Please remember that www.annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized website to provide free annual credit reports and that none of the additional services offered at www.annualcreditreport.com. are necessary to retrieve your free report. When requesting your information online, you will need to identify your state and then click “request report”. Complete all required fields and select the credit bureau you would like to access and follow each step. We recommend declining the option to purchase your credit score. You will then have access to view and print your report.
I highly recommend everyone do this. Put it on your calendar to check your report every four months.
Today I checked Equifax. Everything looked accurate, but I found two old accounts that were still open, one from 2005 and one from 2000!
The one from 2005 was a local furniture store. It was easy to close. All it took was a 5 minute phone call. The phone number was listed on the credit report.
The one from 2000 is from when I used to bank at First Security Bank. I had a Credit Card with them. They were bought out by Wells Fargo and shortly after that I closed my account with them. Apparently they didn’t close the credit card account.
I tried calling the number listed on the credit report, but I just get some kind of busy signal as if the phone number no longer exists. I will try calling Wells Fargo and if I don’t get anywhere with them, there is a link on my credit report to submit an online dispute. I’ll go that route.
In any case, I would recommend checking your credit and cleaning it up. It’s likely not as much hassle as you would fear it to be.
Themocracy
This is important. When I tried to refi, I found that a bill had been sent to a previous address. Since I have otherwise great credit, I got by, but one or more similar problems might have led to a voided loan application and cost me plenty!
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