Credit reporting agencies help consumers in several ways. First, they provide potential lenders, landlords, insurance companies, and employers with information about your past use of credit. This information is subsequently used to make decisions about whether you can receive a loan, rent an apartment, get an insurance policy, or be hired for a particular job.
Second, credit reporting agencies can help you monitor your credit history and check for evidence of identity theft. Under federal law, every U.S. resident can obtain one free credit report annually from each of the "big three" national credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). For additional information, visit
www.annualcreditreport.com.
Third, credit reporting agencies can help you if you are a victim of identity theft. For example, you can contact them and have a fraud alert placed in your credit file to try to head off further misuse of your identity.
Fourth, you can dispute mistakes or outdated items for free. Both the credit reporting company and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a credit reporting company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.
We would like your feedback on this Personal Finance Frequently Asked Question.
