Getting a copy of credit report is extremely easy these days, with numerous sites offering the service for free. Annualcreditreport.com is one such websites that is recognized by the federal government of USA and lets you order credit reports from all the three credit agencies through one simple request form.
Tips on Getting a Copy of Credit Report
As a lot of critical personal information is required for requesting credit reports, many fake and fraudulent websites have come up that collect information and misuse it. Therefore, one should be careful to identify and hence avoid such websites.
- Do not give out information on websites with misspelled URLs or suspicious links. Always read the url name carefully and look for https:// sign before the domain name. The ‘s’ denotes that it is a secured site.
- Do not use the back-button as you might navigate away from the credit report. If you do so then you lose the one free chance.
- Till the time you have free credit reports available, avoid going directly to the sites of the credit agencies. They might offer you free services for a trial period but as people forget to cancel the trial offer, they end up paying for the services.
- If you take printouts, then carefully dispose them so that no one gets to see the vital information that they contain. You can consider shredding or burning them as well.
- Never access your credit information from a public computer. There are several malicious software that store the information you type and can misuse your information.
Difference between a Copy of Credit Report and Investigative Consumer Report
An investigative consumer report has a large range of activities other than credit in it. It includes information about a consumer’s character, personal characteristics, general reputation, mode of living, etc. All this information is collected after interviewing the neighbors and other people-in-contact.
This report finds use in circumstances like insurance, employment checks or for tenants. These reports can not be used in granting credit, as it is subjective and as it doesn’t contain any information related to the credit activities of the consumer.
However, these reports are also made available by a few credit agencies, just like the copy of credit report.