Improve Your Credit Score - Part 1, Free Credit Report and Score

So you are thinking about buying a new car, house, appliance and you are worried that you will be turned down. Or you have been turned down for a loan and you are wondering why. The answer for both of these situations is your credit rating.

Now for the scary part, there is a file about you out there in the world. It is probably not the government that has this file on you but it's business world. If you think that the government is a major part of your life you haven't seen anything yet. Because if you have ever applied for a loan, a car, a house, a credit card, a cell phone, electricity there is a file out there on you. If you have insurance, got sued or arrested or filed for insurance, it's out there. If someone stole your identity and used it for credit, it's out there. It is called your credit report.

The key to knowing your credit rating is simple. You need to get a copy of your credit report. This can be done very easily because of your new rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This is because of the Free File Disclosure Rule of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. This is better known as the FACT Act.

The FACT Act requires that each of the nationwide credit reporting companies, that is Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, are required to provide you at no cost a copy of your credit report once every 12 months. There is only one catch you must ask for it.

There are a few ways that you can request a free copy of your credit report. The best way is to request in writing a copy of your credit report from each of the credit reporting companies. But do not order them from the companies themselves. Here are the ways you can get your free credit report and score.

One way to get your free credit report is to go to www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the quickest way. You can call if you want and that number is 1-877-322-8228. Another way to get the report is to go to ftc.gov/credit and download the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it in. This is the best way because you are leaving a paper trail. This makes it easier to follow what you are doing in case there are questions.

What does your credit score mean to you will be discussed in part two of this series or to find out more go to http://creditscore.withbrian.com. Just remember if you want to win the game you must know the score.