Personal Credit Report

The need for a credit report arises most when you apply for a personal loan or business loan or wish to view whether or not your financial management skills are up to the mark. A personal credit report is a document that is designed under legal supervision. The document can only be accessed from any one or all three consumer-reporting companies authorized for issue of credit scores. The three resources are:

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

Personal Credit Report Reporting Agencies:

Access to a Personal Credit Report is limited. The document can be issued only by the three credit bureaus authorized by the government to do so - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The motive is to access the credit history or fiscal health of a person, business or any corporate entity through credit rating. The term 'fiscal health' refers to asset management and that of liabilities. The three bureaus are supposed to provide a person with free copies of his or her credit report, on request. The requests are entertained only once every financial year. The case-sensitive information is monitored for accuracy and privacy.

Importance of a Personal Credit Report:

The Personal Credit Report is very important in case of loan application to deal with a credit crunch or to monitor credit repair. The information on your fiscal health and the overall rating by one or all three credit bureaus determines whether or not you qualify for a loan. The information also helps the lender calculate the monthly repayment towards the loan.

Information on a Personal Credit Report:

A Personal Credit Report contains accurate information on:

1. Residential address
2. Mode of payment of bills
3. Information of any violation of law involving arrest
4. Information on filing for bankruptcy

Creditors, insurers or employers access information on the Personal Credit Report. The information is also sought by other business entities, to evaluate applications for credit or insurance or even employment details. The FACT or Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act extends certain rights to every citizen and a free copy of the credit report under the Free Annual Credit Report program.

Access to a Personal Credit Report:

The nationwide consumer reporting companies enable access to a Personal Credit Report via a specially designed and monitored central website. The information can also be accessed through a toll-free telephone number and a mailing address.

• Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 or equifax.com
• Experian: 1-888-397-3742 or experian.com
• TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800 or transunion.com

The mailing addresses are easily accessible in the yellow pages. The mailing addresses of the issuing agencies differ from city to city. The Annual Credit Report Request Forms are easily accessible via internet access. The Personal Credit Report may be ordered from each of the three issuing authorities at the same time. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act allows access to one free copy from each of the credit bureaus every year.

It is important to be aware of scrupulous efforts to access sensitive data by some internet hoax or imposter websites. They entice the public to access either order forms for free annual credit reports 'free' of charge or 'Free credit reports immediately', both of which are rights and not options. They also offer 'Free credit monitoring' and later charge fees to the credit card. Many are known to purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com, like anualcreditreport.com or annualcreditrept.com. The official website or any of the credit bureaus never send email asking for personal information. Many of the fraudulent websites send such mail or arrange phone calls by hoax 'representatives' of annualcreditreport.com or any of the three credit bureaus.

To access a copy of the Personal Credit Report, you need to provide the following details directly to the authorized credit reporting agencies:

1. Full name, as it appears on the passport and identity cards
2. Date of birth
3. Complete residential address, with the correct pin code
4. Previous address, if there has been a shift in residence in the last two years
5. Social Security number
6. Sensitive information that only the person in question is likely to know like the repayment towards a particular loan

The personal credit report is more than just an indication of financial health. It is a profile that can either add quality or cause financial resources to ebb in the face of adversity.