Free Credit Reports

Just finished reviewing my credit report at www.AnnualCreditReport.com.  Not to be confused with FreeCreditReport.com, Experian's not free credit monitoring service known for its commercials featuring a pop band in pirate outfits, AnnualCreditReport.com provides a free look at credit reports from the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. 

AnnualCreditReport.com grew out of the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) that President George W. Bush signed into law in 2003.  The FACT Act allows every American to look at their credit reports once every 12 months for free.  Credit experts recommend a credit report check once a year.

The website does not provide your credit score (that's available through the reporting agencies for a fee), but it does allow you to look for any errors in your credit history.  For example, when my wife and I tried buying a car in 1989, we found that her credit report mistakenly included her dad's mortgage.  The website includes links for disputing a credit report error.

The website also offers credit advice.  Equifax recommends keeping a very old credit account, like my 20 year old gasoline card account, open, even if you don't use it very often.  Old accounts increase the average age of your credit accounts, which indicates stability to lenders.

It's recommended you print each report once it's compiled, since you won't be able to view it again for a year.  You can also save the reports in .pdf format.

Link:
www.AnnualCreditReport.com