ILUVTOFU asked:


All three?
[Equifax, Experian, TransUnion]
I want to know my FICO score, but want to know if every credit bureau has their very own FICO score.

And does MyFico offer monitoring for all 3 bureaus? [for individual credit scores]

Lee

Bart Newman asked:




Importance of Credit Report

Every single American citizen are entitled to acquiring a copy of their free annual credit report, thus “how can I order all three of my credit reports” is one of the commonly asked questions that are involved in credit monitoring. Thus, you need to ensure that you order a copy for yourself since it can serve you multiple purposes. Simply put, your report holds vital information about your credit status and rating.

Therefore, this is where you and your future creditor can obtain all the useful financial information, such as past and existing loans, credit card history, debt information, mortgages, and the like. This is one reason why your credit company seeks for your report upon filing for loan since it reflects your payment history, such that they can determine whether you are a risk to the company, should they decide to approve you for a loan.

How can I order all three of my credit reports?

Getting your report should definitely start with asking yourself: “How can I order all three of my credit reports?”

There are several methods of contacting the three major credit agencies, which are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, so you can get your free copy. The most basic step you can do to ask for a copy of your free report is to check out the website for Annual Credit Report and file your request. You will be provided a form that you must fill up with some basic details that the service needs to identify your copy. Then, you must decide which specific report from what agency you’d like to get first. You do have a choice whether to order all of the credit report from all three agencies at the same time, or not.

You must also complete different authentication process for each report from the respective credit agencies. Make sure you have prepared vital documents such as loan accounts or credit information handy, since it will be used by the credit report agency to verify your identity.

You can also try different means of contacting any of the three agencies, such as calling them through their landline numbers, checking out their individual websites, or send them a letter of request via their respective mailing addresses. For this sending a request over the phone though, some agency like Equifax require that a written request be made as follow up, wherein you will be asked to suffice some other details such as address, date of birth, name, SSN, and driver’s license, among others.

If your request to order all three reports has been completed, it will instantly appear online. Then, you can print out your own copy of the report and review over the information contained in it to identify possible errors and make credit repair. If no reports for correction are made, the information contained in your report will be considered valid and final.

Your question, “How can I order all three of my credit reports?” is fairly easy to answer once you know the steps involved.

Bill

L. Sampson asked:




Knowing what is on your credit report can help to keep your personal information safe, give you a chance to correct inaccuracies, and save you money on interest rates when you apply for a home loan. With the wide availability of free or low cost credit reports online, there is no reason to spend a lot of money to find out how credit worthy you really are.

Obtain a free credit report when you sign up for special services

If you are interested in signing up for credit monitoring or similar credit check services, take advantage of a company that offers a free credit report when you sign up for their program. If you are interested in a credit monitoring or counseling program, look for one that offers a free credit report instead of paying for this information.

Go straight to the source

According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, everyone is entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, once every 12 months. You can individually request a copy from each bureau or you can look for online companies that offer a free centralized request form that lets you fill out one form and receive your credit report from all three agencies.

Save money later by not being too thrifty now

While free online credit sites abound on the internet, it isn’t always as free as it sounds. Always thoroughly research any company you are about to request a free credit report from. Some are nothing more than fronts for identity theft scams. Ironically a consumer thinks they are getting a credit report to safeguard their credit, when in truth they are giving away valuable information to identity thieves. While it might seem wonderful to get a credit report for nothing, it won’t seem so wonderful if you have to go through the headache of cleaning up your credit report or if you aren’t able to secure a loan because of fraudulent information on your report.

Dale

C o n f u c i a n asked:


….Or does the score vary on which company retrieves the score? For example, on 11/10 I found out my 3 scores through a Transunion service. Experian score was 668.

Then on 12/10 I signed up for a credit monitoring service (free trial) with Bank of America and my Experian score dropped to 645.

Then today I signed up for credit score analyzer with Discover for $8 a month. I am going to stick with this service. They only use Experian but they are the most difficult. And my score today was 659.

Is this type of fluctuation normal? Look at how my score dropped with Transunion from 713 on 11/10 to 672 on 12/10…seems odd.

11/10: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/nathan_211/Credit/creditscoresnov102009.png

12/10: http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m254/nathan_211/Credit/663avgcreditscoreswithBAC.png

I did just get a foreclosed home and was low on cash so I opened a Home Depot store card in November with a $5,000 limit and I used up over 50% of my limit ($2800/$5000). This was urgent so I had to do it!! I will be making a $2,000 payment next month…I suppose this could have brought my score from 713 to 672 but that seems like a big drop in a couple weeks!

Tamara

thatblissguy asked:


I know that the calculations used by lenders for a mortgage differ from Fair Isaac (FICO). I have TrueCredit (by TransUnion) triple credit monitoring which gives me unlimited access to all three of my credit reports (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) AND my FICO scores. I am preparing myself for a refinance and I want to see how I am scoring with the mortgage calculation, since I have improved my scores significantly over the past year when I got my sub-prime mortgage. My one year prepay penalty is coming up in late December and I want to be fully prepared before I start shopping. Also, what ABSOLUTE MINIMUM credit scores do I need, (FICO) and (Mortgage Lender), to be considered for a Prime rate (<7.5%). Thanks for your help, the people that contribute are greatly appreciated and I'm honored for your time and efforts! Keep up the good work!!!
So I just figured out recently that TransUnion's TrueCredit scoring use FACO and not a true FICO. I went to each bureau seperately and got my FICO and heres what I found, its astounding:
TU EXP EQ
FACO: 637* 596 607
FICO: 637* 660 678

*TransUnion only offers this scoring

I was going off this FACO calculation for over a year! Come to find out I have pretty good credit, and the things I have done to improve it had paid off substantially more than I thought in the past! My Mortgage score was MUCH higher than my FICO when I was applying for my first mortgage. So I now feel that my MORTGAGE SCORE should be in the 700s? Does anyone agree with that? That a middle score of 660 FICO would be at least 700 in Mortgage credit scoring?

Beth

Lisa Carey asked:




Victims of identity theft are not limited to Americans. It is a crime that affects national economies all over the world and in some cases is a more serious concern than national security or even the war on terror.

The Federal Trade Commission recently reported a loss of approximately $50 billion dollars annually in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the Home Office estimated the cost of identity theft (known as identity fraud in most other countries) as approximately $3.2 billion dollars over the last three years. The Australian Centre for Policing Research estimates the costs of identity theft to individuals to be at $3 billion each year.

Citizens of the UK can request a copy of their credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies of Callcredit, Experian or Equifax to monitor their credit. But, in the UK those who discover they have been victims of identity fraud must first attempt to resolve the disputed credit through the lending agency and then if unsuccessful report that they dispute certain information on their credit report. This makes it much more expensive and time consuming for victims to resolve identity fraud.

Spyware is the most often used information gathering tool in the UK. Approximately 91% of all computers are estimated to have been affected by spyware. The most common forms of identity fraud are not necessarily those involving credit, but it has been determined that personal information is being used to obtain fraudulent passports, health services, driver’s licenses, money laundering, and other forms of government benefits.

In Canada, identity fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes. The credit agencies of TransUnion and Equifax report 1800 Canadians file complaints every month. Other common forms of identity fraud in Canada include the obtaining and use of Social Security benefits (Social Insurance Numbers). The Canadian government reported that there are approximately 2.4 million more social insurance numbers than there are actual Canadians. This brings into question the security of the social benefits systems, as well as the security of the full amount of money lost to the government through this abuse.

Can identity fraud be more frightening than terrorism? In Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong; it is. Many banks, businesses, and the government have placed tighter security measures on the release and use of personal and financial information, citizens still feel threatened by identity theft. In these countries, the most common form this crime takes is the abuse of credit/debit card theft. Next in most frequent theft results are fraud that occurs as a result of online shopping and/or bill paying. The most frequent information gathering tool in these countries is the use of Trojans and spyware, with an estimated 20% of people affected through these systems.

Twenty five percent (25%) of reported frauds in Australia involve assuming a false identity. A study of birth certificates indicated that 13% of the sample resulted in false or inaccurate information. One popular method of obtaining information to establish a new identity in Australia is the use of “identity kits,” easy to purchase of such high quality that it is easy to fool people. Banks report that a loss of approximately $25 million dollars has occurred s a result of identity fraud. In 2007 it was estimated that approximately 2 million Australians have had their personal information stolen and used fraudulently. A poll conducted in 2007 indicated that 87% of Australians were more “concerned about identity theft” than terrorism.

This crime is not limited to the United States, but statistics do indicate that the US has some of the highest ranking incidences of identity theft. There could be several reasons for this: either it does not occur at the level it does in the US, other countries simply do not keep or report the information United States does and the differences in terminology may cause confusion.

It is clear that identity theft is a global problem, however, how do some countries have such a low level of incidents compared to the US? There are five reasons why the US residents and citizens may be at a higher risk for identity theft.

1. Social Security numbers, though issued by other names (such as in Canada and Great Britain) in many countries are not used for a catch all identifying number. Account numbers are used to indicate identity, and those are issued by the credit agencies or businesses making it more difficult to have access to personal information.

2. There are laws in many Western European countries that prohibit the sharing, selling, or releasing your private, personal, or financial information. However, in the US it is a common practice for marketers to obtain mailing list and other information from many different sources, therefore information in the US is more likely to be accessible.

3. Credit reports are designed differently in many other countries. In France, Spain and Denmark only negative information may be reported. In many other European countries credit information is limited to specific banks that have been approved to have access to the information. In the US, access to credit information is far too easy to obtain and it has more information than we may wish to have available.

4. In many other countries credit cards are not used on a regular basis for purchases. For the majority of Europeans, a debit card is used limiting not only the purchase power to the amount in their bank but limiting the use of the card by others. Credit cards are also more difficult to obtain.

5. In the US credit cards use a magnetic strip with the account information imprinted on it, making it easy for anyone with a “skimmer” to find out the account number for the card and use it. However, many European countries utilize a “smart card,” that uses a computer chip that requires a pin code to be accessed. In France, since the introduction of the smart card identity fraud has decreased by 50%.

No country has been able to eliminate identity theft, and while the methods for obtaining information changes it does not stop identity thieves from finding ways to obtain personal and financial information. One fact is clear; identity theft is a top concern among many nations. With this being the circumstance; citizens, banks, businesses and government must continually change their habits to keep their information safe.

Anthony

The Truth asked:


freecreditreport.com , experian, transunion, equifax are all in together to make money off me. Where can I get a “real” free credit report without having to give up my credit card information and sign up for some monthly membership or a dumb “identity theft monitoring alert” service ?

thanks for any help!

Peggy

Hyder Khan asked:




Did you know that by law, every person in the United States is entitled to request one free credit report every twelve months, from each of the three credit bureaus?

All you have to do is contact each one and either send them a request by mail or fill out the required form on their website, and upon verification of your identity and verifying that you have no checked your credit report in the last 12 months, they will mail (or e-mail) you your credit report.

All financial planners unanimously agree that you should check your credit report regularly, so that you can proactively be aware of what is on it and take the positive steps necessary to improve your credit score.

The three major credit bureaus are: Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.

Above and beyond that, there are many credit monitoring services out there that offer a variety of different services:

Multiple credit checks throughout the year Alerts to inform you when your credit score has gone up or done Alerts to inform you when something negative has come on your credit report Analysis of your credit report along with advice on how to improve it

It can be to your advantage to subscribe to such a service. For example, if you are planning to buy a house in the upcoming months or years, and your credit score needs improvement or you are simply trying to maintain it, then this type of service can help you to stay on top of your situation.

Luis

Joseph Devine asked:




In the modern world, credit history is about much more than getting a good rate when buying a home or purchasing a new car. Your credit score can have heavy influence on many areas you might think should have nothing to do with your borrowing history. With a low credit score, you may have a lease application rejected when you believe you meet all the required criteria. Believe it or not, you could even be denied a professional position because of blemishes on your financial history. They are scary, almost offensive, facts, but in a world where information is so readily available, credit history is more important than ever. There are a few major steps a person can take to make sure that they start building credit effectively and maintain a good credit score throughout their life.

First of all, you should learn how a credit score is calculated. The two most important factors are if you pay your bills on time and how much of your available credit you use. Tending to the former is pretty self-explanatory but can be made easier through automatic payment systems. The latter can be a bit trickier. A good rule is that you should never go over 30% of your limit. Remember, you can have a good credit score without keeping a balance on a card, and you are always safer paying in full each month.

Second, you should always check your credit score regularly. The three major credit report bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union and it never hurts to check with all of them. Your report will give you an idea of notes that lenders have made regarding your borrowing history. Checking your report frequently will also allow you to catch discrepancies before they develop into serious problems. Identity theft is a more and more frequent issue and vigilant monitoring of credit reports is one of the best ways to find out if someone has stolen your personal information.

Finally, using your credit accounts lightly but on a regular schedule will assure that you stay out of financial trouble but are still keeping a high credit score. In order to generate a score, you must have had a credit account for at least half a year, and one of your credit accounts must have been active within the last six months. If you get a credit card but never use it, the lender may simply cancel your account.

A strong credit history can be a strong financial tool. Credit can also get you in deep trouble, though. If you have slipped into serious debt and your credit history is suffering, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy.

Kevin

Brian Hawkins asked:




I don’t want to mislead anyone. These five tips are great ways to help increase your credit score but you’ll still need to pay your debts down and pay them on time. Paying your bills on time is the number one method to repairing you credit. This should be so obvious I didn’t even include it with the five tips. Consider it a freebie!

See where you stand

Before you can begin reestablishing your credit you need to know exactly where you stand. That’s the easy part and it will cost you less than fifty bucks in the US. You can’t fix what you don’t see so don’t skip this step. You can actually hurt your credit by fighting a negative that’s not even on your report and there may be mistakes and unfair derogatory information that needs to be corrected.

Getting The Report

I haven’t seen a service yet that actually offers a truly free credit report that includes your credit score. The ones that advertise free credit scores are using the ploy to get you to join their credit monitoring service or some other membership that requires a monthly fee. I recommend you just buy a report that includes the three available reports and scores from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. A few minutes researching the top search engine results for ‘Credit Report and Score’ should help you find a reliable site to buy your report from.

Lets Get Started…

1. Increasing the difference between your account balance and the credit limit of each card can increase your overall credit score. Pay down your credit card’s balances and the balances of other revolving accounts such as lines of credit. The bigger the gap the better off you are.

2. Here’s one that entire businesses have been built just by providing this service. It’s disputing old negatives. The idea is to get negative items pulled from your report by disputing the report in hopes that the creditor or collection agency won’t bother to verify it within the allowed time period. It’s a quick and easy way to ’slim down’ those negatives before you start tackling the project from other angles. You definitely want to look for and dispute inaccuracies.

3. Here’s one that I personally tried back in my twenties and it worked great. Let’s say you’re getting a couple grand from your income tax refund this year. Take a thousand dollars of that and go talk to your bank. Propose the idea of getting a secured loan using your cash as security. You won’t be able to withdrawal your funds until you pay off the loan but you won’t lose any money other than the interest paid either. It may seem silly to borrow your own money and pay interest on it but you’re repairing your credit. Be sure you make all payments on time every time and if you decide to pay it off early be sure you make several on-time payments first.

4. Here’s another one I’ve personally seen work. You need the cooperation of a relative with good credit for this one. Say dear old Dad has been paying his bills on time for years and he has fantastic credit and several credit cards. Simply ask him to contact the credit card issuers and add your name to the account. They will send him cards in your name but it’s still his account but now a little of his good credit will rub off on your score. It won’t hurt him unless you do something stupid like actually run up the account and cause late payments. Remember, the idea is to improve your credit score not get your hands on someone’s credit cards. You don’t need to use or carry the cards for this to work.

5. Be sure the credit limits being reported to the bureaus is correct. The credit limits on your credit reports may be out dated and showing lower than they actually are. If that’s the case ask your credit-card issuers to update the credit limit information to help your score. Remember tip number one? This will help increase that balance to limit difference to help boost your overall score.

These five steps should get you started on the path to enjoying a good credit history and ultimately lower interest rates, insurance premiums and other benefits of a high credit score.

Jason