The information in your credit report affects several aspects of your life:
- Lenders use your credit score to figure out how much interest you will pay
- Insurance Providers use your credit score to determine your rate
- Landlords use your credit score to assess your ability to pay rent
- Employers use your credit score to aid in determining personal integrity and responsibility
The three major credit bureaus are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. It’s not uncommon to find different information from each, so it’s important to monitor all three. Review your credit report regularly to ensure its accuracy, become familiar with the information being reported about you, and your credit activity. Reviewing your credit report is easy with a free annual credit report from annualcreditreport.com.
Thanks to a new federal law, starting September 21, 2018 you can freeze and unfreeze your credit file for free, and when you place a fraud alert, it will last one year instead of 90 days. Contact the national credit bureaus to request fraud alerts and credit freezes. If you have questions about the new law, here are answers to some of the questions the Federal Trade Commission is hearing most. consumer.ftc.gov