Free Annual Credit ReportFight identity theft by monitoring and reviewing your credit report. You may request your free credit report online, by phone or through the mail by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report. This central site allows you to request a free credit report from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You are entitled to one report each year from each agency.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cautions consumers to be wary of companies that make claims regarding credit repair. These companies, commonly called credit clinics, don't do anything for consumers that consumers cannot do for themselves at little or no cost. Beware of any organization that offers to create a new identity and credit file for you. The FTC and state attorneys general have filed actions against those who pursue these fraudulent practices. Here are some warning signs that the FTC and others say consumers should look out for to determine if they might be dealing with a credit clinic:
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An organization that guarantees to remove late payments, bankruptcies, or similar information from a credit report -
An organization that charges a lot of money to repair credit -
A company that asks the consumer to write to the credit reporting company and repeatedly seek verification of the same credit account information in the file, month after month, even though the information has been determined to be correct -
An organization that is reluctant to give out their address or one that pushes you to make a decision immediately
For a helpful brochure about credit clinics, you can write to the Federal Trade Commission, Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenues, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 and request a brochure titled "Credit Repair: Self Help May Be Best."
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