The good news is getting a credit report doesn’t have to be such a chore anymore.  There are no appointments, fill out any paper work, or even leave your house so long as you have an internet connection.  There are a number of different sites today that offer you a credit report upon signing up.  Prior to applying for a new credit card several years ago, I tried one of these site out just for the heck of it to check credit score.  Right off the bat I noticed a number of sites that claimed that they will give free annual credit report, so I tried one of these to start.

The first site I tried was indeed free, however I still have yet to receive the promised free annual credit report from them.  They required a credit card number, which I gave them, and bunch of other personal information, and then said that I would receive my credit report in the mail.  Well, its several years later and I haven’t gotten one.  Fortunately, they did not charge my account for anything, but nevertheless I regret ever signing up with them.

Your best bet, I soon learned, in getting a credit report is to use one well known and respected credit services such as Experian, or Equifax.  There will charge you a small fee, usually around $30 USD, or more if you want a more detailed report to check credit score.  Getting an accurate credit report to check credit score is well worth this small fee, however.

Overall, my advice before getting a credit report is to spend a few minutes researching different credit report sites.  Don’t be fooled by offers of free credit reports, because there are likely strings attached.  Additionally, there is always the danger that the site you are signing up on is a complete fraud designed just for collecting peoples personal information for illegal use.  Looking into it a little before signing up for free annual credit report may save you a lot of headaches later on.

Personal finances are never simple especially in this period of time. There are so many things to consider when you organize your own portfolio. One of the biggest considerations is your credit history. I discovered that my credit report held information that I didn’t know existed and I learned a valuable lesson after getting my free copy of credit score.

You would think that I should know everything that is in my credit report but the truth is that I absolutely did not. There were little details that really stood out in my pages. First and foremost, there was a credit card debt listed from a creditor I never used before. The payments were up to date and the rating was quite good, but I didn’t have a card by that credit card carrier.

I also found something pretty aggravating in my free credit report. There was a loan that was paid in full over a decade ago that are still listed as open. Again, this listing on my credit report was seemingly fine considering that it was showing a steady stream of payment history.

So what’s the big deal? I initially thought that these little mistakes were no problem. After all, there were well-paid and I had a good rating with both organizations. However, I did think that I should make an attempt to clear things up anyway. The process of fixing my credit report wasn’t easy but I am glad that I did it..

What seemed like mundane little errors could have cost me my future new car loan. Since both of these creditors listed debts that I didn’t have, it appeared that I had more debt than I actually really did. When it is time to get my new car loan, I quickly discovered how easily these two balances would affect my ability to get a good loan.

My balance on the one loan was zero. However, the company still had me listed as owning over thousands of dollars. The new car loan company would naturally assume that I still had to make monthly payments on this outstanding debt. But it was actually paid in full long ago. I had to get proof that my credit report was simply wrong.

The credit card that had an excellent payment history could have still marred my chances for my new car loan. This particular debt (which didn’t even exist) was well into the thousands, making it appear that I had an obligation to pay this in monthly installments as well with my current pay check.

With the two bogus debts on my credit report, the loan company would have probably turned me down for new loan. And that would have been a very sad moment for me. I have to say that one of the best decisions I ever made was getting the information on my credit report updated and mistakes corrected.