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Money and Mobility
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Smart Move |
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Guard your credit history carefully. It can hurt you or help you when you want to buy a car or home or take out a loan in the future. |
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 It’s easy—and
free—to check your credit report every year. Your store,
credit card, and bank accounts are all listed as well as whether
you pay your bills on time, make late payments, or have unpaid
debts. There are three major credit reporting companies and you
can get a free copy of your report from each company once a year.
Don’t contact these companies directly for your free copy,
however. You must request them online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. Also, watch out for other Web sites
that appear to offer you free credit reports. These are likely
to be scams “phishing” for your personal information.
When
you get your reports, review them carefully. Is the information
accurate? Are there signs of fraud or identity theft, such
as accounts you didn’t open or charges you didn’t
make? If you see problems, call the credit reporting companies
immediately. Explain the situation and ask that a “fraud
alert” be
placed in your file. Also report the fraud to the police. Here’s
how to contact the fraud divisions of the credit reporting
companies:
If you see other problems on your report, such as an unpaid
bill that you simply forgot about, take action to pay it. Then,
ask the business to whom you owed the money to send a letter
to the credit companies saying the matter has been resolved.
Guard your credit history carefully. It can hurt you or help
you when you want to buy a car or home or take out a loan in
the future.
Know Your Credit Score
Your credit score is different
from your credit report. A credit score is a number—usually
three digits—that lenders look at to determine
how likely it is you will repay your loan on time. The
higher the number the better. For example, the highest
FICO score is 850, but most people score in the 600s
and 700s. Each credit reporting company calculates your
score based on information in your credit report. As
a result, you can have three different scores. You can
get your credit scores from the same source as your credit
reports—www.annualcreditreport.com.
There is a fee for getting your credit score. It’s
useful information though, so consider getting it at
least once a year.
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