Yes – It Is Possible to Get a Free Copy of your Credit Report

Find someone on the street and tell them that it is possible for them to get a copy of their credit report for free, and the likelihood of them giving you a confused face is high. Indeed – many people think that acquiring a copy of your own credit report is a drawn out, time consuming, expensive activity – which is only done by people who are suffering from the effect of bad credit.

This couldn’t be more incorrect. Hopefully, this article will give you some idea of the ways and reasons why you should take every opportunity (twice a year) that you can to get a free copy of your credit report.

You Are Entitled To A Free Credit Report

In the detailed (and admittedly complex) laws surrounding credit reporting in America, you have an absolute right as a citizen to the following things regarding your credit report and credit score:

  • A free copy of your credit report twice a year.
  • The ability to contest entries which you think are erroneous.
  • The ability to attach alerts and monitoring services on to your credit file.

In addition to these three rights, you also have the right to access your credit file – in its most up to date form – at any time by paying a processing cost to the credit reporting agency (after the first 2 requests).

Thankfully though, most people don’t have a need to acquire their credit report more than 2 times per year, so in actual fact for the average consumer, there should be no cost whatsoever.

What To Do If You Are Denied A Free Credit Report

If you believe that your rights as a consumer have been infringed upon – there are a number of things you can do to seek remedial action. These include:

  • Submit a complaint to your credit reporting agency.
  • Get a lawyer involved and take legal action.
  • Write to the credit reporting agency watchdog explaining the circumstances.
  • Complain to the federal reporting agency watchdog.

These 4 points above are intended to be in order from “first” to “last” point of action. By the fourth step, we’re pretty sure that you would have settled the issue – and will have the credit reporting agency fronting up with a free copy of your credit report pretty quickly.