Free Annual Credit Reports
There is one official site to get a free annual credit report. It is AnnualCreditReport.com and they can also be reached at (877)322-8228. It is Federal law that you are able to get a free credit report every twelve months from each of the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Do not be fooled by the advertising of look-alike sites. In the end, the look-alike sites that claim to be free will end up charging you.
Why should you check your credit report often? Monitoring your credit report is a good way to spot signs of identity theft, such as errors or suspicious activity and accounts or addresses you do not recognize. You may not know that identity theft has happened until you see your credit report or after the damage has been done and are getting calls from a collector or when you apply for credit to find that your credit has been affected.
You can request all three reports at once or you can order one report at a time. By requesting the reports separately (for example, one every four months) you can monitor your credit report throughout the year. Once you’ve received your annual free credit report, you can still request additional reports from the credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) for a fee. By law, a credit reporting company can charge no more than $12.50 for a credit report. Situations such as “adverse action” based on a credit report, your file is inaccurate due to fraud, placing an initial fraud alert and others will also get you additional free reports.
For additional information, visit the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov and search “free credit report” or contact us and we will print the information for you. In addition, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website at http://www.consumerfinance.gov provides helpful information.
Additional information is available by contacting Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton.
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Montana State University, US Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.
