Free Annual Credit Report

[T.S.]

This is the government mandated, "no strings attached" website to get your credit reports from all 3 agencies once per year.

http://www.annualcreditreport.com/

The "free credit report" websites you see advertising on TV commercials and elsewhere are scams. They make you give them a credit card number, sign you up for a "30 day free trial" of one of their services to get the report, then charge your credit card $80 if you forget to call and cancel it within 30 days which happens to many people.

[T.S.]

I ended up disputing 3 things on one of my reports. 2 were removed and 1 was marked as disputed, but not removed yet. 1 of them was a judgement for over $2,000 and I had no idea what it was.

[MyAzi]

I hesitate going to those sites. Even though they say secured. To put my personal info and my ss number... call me paranoid!

I am glad you got your stuff settled for the most part.

[NHYRNUT]

Isn't that F.A.C.R. The site that the actual credit reporting agencies have, Per the Literal act of Congress? I have heard you can get 1 free report once a year from all of them. They fought that tooth and nail. The feds put so much pressure on them they had to do it. LOL

[Wyody]

Originally Posted by NHYRNUT

Isn't that F.A.C.R. The site that the actual credit reporting agencies have, Per the Literal act of Congress? I have heard you can get 1 free report once a year from all of them. They fought that tooth and nail. The feds put so much pressure on them they had to do it. LOL

Although I have not been in "the industry" while this has all been evolving, I would think it would behoove them to offer the free reports just because of the numbers of "skips" that can be located with such a program.
All three agencies issue weekly spread-sheets to subscribing members. I personally used to locate in the neighborhood of half-a-million dollars every week just by attentive scrutiny of the spreads and for most lenders, credit-grantors and collection-agencies, that's a bundle of dough!
However, as Azi mentions, security could be an issue. For example, since we moved we have been using our office computer until we have space to set up our own. The people who used this puter before had disabled the anti-virus and visited some surrepticious sites - which really concerns me based on the number of spam e-mails that come into the main mailbox. Although our firewalls and anti-V programs are in place now, the number of outfits that might have this puter's ID numbers is scarey!

[NHYRNUT]

What are skips? They sound like I want an old one ready to pass. lol

[Wyody]

Originally Posted by NHYRNUT

What are skips? They sound like I want an old one ready to pass. lol

When a creditor loses track of you - such as if you move and they get return mail, you would be considered a "skip" -- I suppose as in ... "skipped town".
Those whose job it is to find you again are called "skip-tracers" and often will use the pseudonymn "Skip Tracey".
I traced skips for Exxon, Amex and Carte Blanche in the 70's, for my own companies later on and more recently for lost parents and/or children.

[NHYRNUT]

Cool, They must hate people like me. I just stay off the grid. lol If there is nothing in my name they can't find me. LOL Not that they have to but it would suck if they did.

[Wyody]

Originally Posted by NHYRNUT

Cool, They must hate people like me. I just stay off the grid. lol If there is nothing in my name they can't find me. LOL Not that they have to but it would suck if they did.

Used to be, there were only two tools - the mail and the telephone ... not counting calls to a credit bureau - which then maintained handwritten ledgers.
I was only around at the start of the computer-age - and one of the first tracks they had was a "zip-code" locator and also a "corporate" track - which could locate the principles of a corporation no matter how small. I can only imagine the tools they have now. Good time to mention that law-enforcement has additional tools ... but usually not folks with the know-how to run the basics.

[NHYRNUT]

Now they just do a retina scan and there you are. LOL They used to track me, but now I don't let them. See I discovered if you put aluminum foil on my head they can't read my thoughts. That job would be cool. Get revenge on all the people I don't like. LOL Then Again, I guess they wouldn't hire me just for that reason.

[Wyody]

Originally Posted by NHYRNUT

Now they just do a retina scan and there you are. LOL They used to track me, but now I don't let them. See I discovered if you put aluminum foil on my head they can't read my thoughts. That job would be cool. Get revenge on all the people I don't like. LOL Then Again, I guess they wouldn't hire me just for that reason.

Yep, time for the PM. Does remind me of the get-up they used for my first trip to Mars, though. I think Mork's friend Exidor invented it.

[isabel]

Credit reports and Agencies are a pain in the rear. I had to write letters to get an account that was closed to actually read closed and paid in full. Instead of open and current. Messed up my ratios because it added in a $500. car payment. When there wasn't one.

Couldn't just call someone and say hey change it. Had to write the lender and then the credit agencies. Also I have addresses on my credit report saying I lived in Washington state, Never lived there. Now I have to get that off of there too.

Here is something I learned from a credit seminar. You print out your own credit report. Take it to who ever you are going to buy....say a car...and show them a report. Make you deal based on it. And don't let them run your credit until you have a deal lined up.

the credit seminar told us that for every "inquiry" to your credit, requested by a lender, with your loan application... by say a ....car dealership...or business...docks your credit score by 12 points. If they shop around through a loan broker and the loan companies looking at your credit...do an inquiry...another 12 points down.

We once refi. our house through a broker. The inquires hit our credit score 5 times.

Izzy