Take advantage of your free credit report

Did you know that you can pull your credit report for FREE? If you haven’t looked at it in a while, add this to your to-do list. Read on for details about how credit impacts your life and how/where to review your free credit report.

Why is credit important?

These are several reasons why it’s important to build and/or maintain good credit:

• Low credit scores/bad credit can prevent you from taking out credit or loans. If you are able to take out the loan or get that credit card, the interest rate will be higher — which is going to cost you more money.
• Some employers might pull your credit report to help make their decision to hire you.
• Insurance premiums can increase if you have bad credit.

Where can I get my credit report?

You can pull your credit report from annualcreditreport.com for free. Before COVID-19, you could receive one free credit report per year. Since COVID-19, each of the three credit reporting bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) are offering a free pull WEEKLY. We don’t know how long this will last, so get the most out of it while you can!

What should I look for?

When going through your credit report, look for any major errors, such as debts that aren’t yours. Also, check your payment history for accuracy. If you have any debts that are past due, work on getting caught up as soon as possible. On-time payments and current debt balances make up a big part of your credit score. 

What if I find an error?

If you find something inaccurate in your report, you will need to dispute it. This blog post, Disputing errors on your credit report, provides step-by-step instructions. 

Do I need to see my credit score?

Only Experian offers your FICO Score (using the FICO Score 8 model) for free with your credit report, but your lender might use a different scoring model. If you are planning to take out a loan, it’s helpful to know your score. However, when you apply for the loan, the lender will pull your credit report, which includes your score — and they are required to provide you a copy upon your request.

If you really want to know what your credit score is ahead of time, you can pay for your score or use the Experian score as an estimate. However, keep in mind some banks or other services might provide it to you for free. NOTE: Be careful of any service offering your score for free; sometimes you have to sign up for a monitoring service that comes with a monthly fee. Therefore, make sure you read the fine print before getting that “free” score. 

If you need assistance reviewing your credit report or want support to improve your credit, call us at 888.577.2227 to schedule a free appointment, or get your support online by creating your financial profile today. Our nonprofit, certified financial counselors are here to help. 

Author Elaina Johannessen is the program director for Debt Management Plan operations with LSS Financial Counseling.