There are many websites that offer “free” credit reports. Most of these also require you to sign up for additional services, which if you don’t cancel, you are forced to keep for a long period of time.

In 2004, the Federal Government required the three major credit bureaus to offer you a copy of your credit report free every year, no strings attached. Help repair your credit by pulling your credit report today.

Annual Credit Report

Monitoring Your Credit Report:

With a healthy credit report, you can save money on loans and insurance. To maintain a healthy credit report you may want to monitor your credit.

There are many websites that offer “monitoring” services and credit improvement kits. Most monitoring services require you to sign up for additional services and long contracts.

We recommend using www.truecredit.com, which is run by TransUnion. This is a reasonably priced product that has many great features and you don’t have to worry about rip-offs.

Credit Repair Companies:

The Federal Trade Commission monitors complaints on all industries in the United States. See what the FTC has to say about Credit Repair Companies by Clicking Here.

Identity Theft:

First you have to ask yourself, is it truly identity theft? It may simply be a case where a person with a similar name had an account that mistakenly landed on your credit file. Since errors like this happen frequently, we suggest contacting the collection agency and explaining that there must have been an error. The other option is to dispute your case through the credit bureau from which you received the report. It is important to document whom you speak with and tolet the people you talk to know you are documenting this information. Most agencies don’t want the wrong person to have a negative mark on their credit file.

If it is identity theft, find out what to do by Clicking Here.

What to do if you if Identity Theft happens:

1. Cancel your credit cards immediately.
2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your
   credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you are diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation.
3. Call the 3 national credit-reporting organizations immediately to
   place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number.
   1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
   2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
   3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
   4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Steps to get out of Debt:

It may be time for you to help yourself out of debt. To find out more Click Here.

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