Credit Report - Credit Bureaus - Credit Card - Credit Score Information

Credit Report Information

OBTAIN A CREDIT REPORT IMMEDIATELY ONLINE

You care allowed a free credit report once a year from each credit bureau.  The main credit bureaus are Equifax, Trans Union and Experian.  Below is the information you will need if you wish to obtain a copy of your credit reports:

• Equifax Credit Services
  P.O. Box 105851
  Atlanta, GA  30348-5851
  Automated Credit Report Order Line: 1-800-997-2493
• Trans Union Credit Services
  P.O. Box 1000
  Chester, PA  19022-1000
  Automated Credit Report Order Line: 1-800-888-4213
• Experian Credit Services
  P.O. Box 2104
  Allen, TX  75013-2104
  Automated Credit Report Order Line: 1-888-397-3742

If you order your credit reports by mail it will take approximately 2 to 4 weeks to receive them and you will need to follow the instructions on what to include with your request for a credit report from each bureau.
If you order your reports by phone it will take approximately five days to seven days to receive them.  They will come by mail so be careful not to throw them out as junk mail this is exactly what they look like.  There are three bureaus you will need to get three reports (one from each credit bureau) If you do not get all three you are only seeing one third of your credit.

If ordering your reports by mail you need to do the following:

1.  Type a letter stating you want a copy of your consumer credit report.
2.  List your name, address, social security number and date of birth.
3.  Sign the letter and date it.
4.  We suggest you mail the requests by certified mail but it is not mandatory.
5.  For most states the cost of a credit report is $9.50 you will need to enclose a check or money order for this amount.

OBTAIN A CREDIT REPORT IMMEDIATELY ONLINE

Credit Cards

APPLY FOR A CREDIT CARD

Credit Cards are almost a necessity we have located credit cards for those with good credit, medium credit and for those who are credit challenged.  It may be best to do some clean up work on your credit reports before getting any credit card.

Credit Bureaus

MORE ON CREDIT BUREAUS

There are three main credit bureaus.  From these three bureaus the smaller substation bureaus collect their information.  Each credit bureau is independent of the other two credit bureaus and do not share information between themselves.  A credit bureau collects information about you and stores it in a repository.  When a creditor asks for information about you it will come from a credit bureaus repository.  Credit bureaus are also in charge of what type of information is stored on your credit reports.  Credit bureaus are FOR PROFIT businesses and are paid by you, your creditors and would be creditors.  The credit bureaus charge anyone who pulls a credit report from them.  They charge for creditors to be a member, they charge for each inquiry and so on... so they are in the credit reporting business to make money and they do make money.  It has been stated that bureaus make billions of dollars a year.  MORE ON CREDIT BUREAUS

Credit Scores

GET CREDIT SCORES

Credit Scores tell creditors if you are creditworthy.  In other words if your credit scores are low you probably will be denied credit or you may be given credit but at a high interest rate.  A credit score ranges between 300 and 900 depending on which credit bureau you are obtaining the score from.  Any score between 300 and 550 is considered a bad credit score.  Any score between 550 and 620 is considered a not so good score.  Any score between 620 and 650 is considered mildly good. Any score between 650 and 680 is considered good and any score over 680 is excellent.  A credit score actually dictates what your interest rate will be.  The higher your score the lower the interest rate.  This is why even a person who has fair credit can improve the credit scores and get a big savings in the amount of interest that is paid to the creditors.  Saving 1/4 point on a home loan is a large amount of money which is why refinancing is a good idea.  Credit scores are directly connected to what is on your credit reports ... when you improve your credit reports then your credit scores are also improved.  GET CREDIT SCORES

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