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Q: I understand that I am entitled to three free credit reports a year. How can I get this service
A: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each US consumer is entitled to each credit report from the three offices credit each year. The credit bureaus jointly established AnnualCreditReport.com as a place where consumers can easily apply for these free credit reports. You can receive a report from each bureau per twelve-month period, so most experts suggest shifting your requests so that you receive your three reports a year. It is important to note that credit indicates that you receive from AnnualCreditReport.com will not include a credit score.
We do not think that checking your credit report once a year is sufficient, because the information on your credit file is constantly changing. In addition, your credit reports can vary considerably from one office to office. As such, we believe that consumers should check their office each credit reports at least quarterly and more frequently if you are actively in the market for any type of credit or loan. The most cost effective way to do this is to sign up for a credit report monitoring service that will not only give you access to your credit reports and scores from all three bureaus, but also monitor your credit report any change to the monitoring of three office credit. You can learn more about the credit report monitoring services by reading our reviews and comparison NextAdvisor.com.