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How to Get Your Free Credit Report at AnnualCreditReport.com

Last Updated: June 1, 2010

AnnualCreditReport.com is a website jointly operated by the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies; Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The site was created in order to comply with their obligations under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) to provide a method for American consumers to receive a free annual credit report. The goal was to allow consumers a way to ensure their credit information is correct and to guard against identity theft. The three major credit reporting agencies created the joint venture company, Central Source, LLC, to oversee their compliance with the FACTA. This service does not lower the consumers score nor does it count as a "credit pull".

While there are many companies out there with similar sounding names the site that provides this free government mandated credit report access is annualcreditreport.com. Consumers who want to take advantage of this free service should type the address carefully to avoid landing on a legitimate looking page run by a scam artist.

How to Get Your Free Report

1. Just type in annualcreditreport.com.
2. After connecting to annualcreditreport.com, you will be asked to select the state they live in and move on.
3. The next page requests the consumer's name, address and other identifying information that will allow the free credit report to be generated.
4. After all of that information has been entered consumers are asked to choose which of their three credit reports they wish to review.
5. After choosing the credit report (or reports) to review, consumers are transferred to the web site(s) of the appropriate credit reporting agency or agencies.
6. In order to verify identity consumers will need to enter the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.
7. At this point consumers will also have the option of checking their numerical credit score with the agency, although there is a small charge for that extra service.
8. As a safety measure, consumers will need to answer a few questions about which only they would know the answers. This process is relatively painless, and an important safety measure designed to prevent fraud and abuse.

The Credit Report You Get

The credit report itself is presented in an easy to use format, with links to each section of the credit report, including open accounts, potentially negative information and recent credit inquiries. This electronic format is far easier than the old method of requesting a copy of the credit report by mail, reading through the paper and painstakingly documenting errors by hand. You can easily spot any attempts at identity theft or other potential problems.

The online credit report also provides a "contact us" link that to dispute any erroneous information found on the report. Do NOT use this. Any disputes should by made through regular mail and sent certified mail, return receipt requested.

The web site has a FAQs section for asking "how to" questions about getting your credit report and using this free service more effectively. The FAQ link is located right at the top of the home page, making it visible to consumers wanting answers to their questions.

The site also includes a customer comment form consumers can use to contact the annualcreditreport.com organization. You may ask questions about the use of the site or your credit report using this form that are not already covered in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the web site.

With identity theft a growing problem and reports of fraud on the rise it has never been more important for every consumer to know what is in his or her credit report. The service provided by Annual Credit Report.com is a big step in the right direction, and a great way for consumers to get a jump on the identity thieves and other bad guys that plague the modern world. Getting your credit report is an important first step in beginning your credit repair process.