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Exercise Your Legal Right To Check Your Credit Report For Free

It is not only embarrassing but is also very disheartening to find your loan request rejected due to your low credit which you did not check before. Whether you apply for a fresh loan or for consolidating your existing debts it is always recommended that you check your credit score first before you apply. What is more, you are permitted by the law to get a copy of your credit report and that too for free. Therefore, there is no reason that you skip this check only to be disheartened later.

There are several legal sources from where you can check your credit information and your credit history and all of these sources are legal and authentic. These sources and the knowledge about your credit will make it easy for you to know your position before you apply for the loan. You may even be lucky enough to unlock better rates and terms on the loans, mortgages or credit cards you want to apply for.

According to the money lending law, your credit report and credit score matters not only to you but also to your prospective creditors.

  • Your credit report will provide them with all the relevant and important information about you and your credit.
  • It will show the loans you have taken and how you managed with the repayment aspects.
  • It will also show whether you defaulted on your payment and what other negatives are there in your report such as collections or bankruptcies.

In short, it will give the prospective creditor a lot of idea and confidence whether or not you should be given the loan and what are the possibilities that you will repay it on time with the available resources.

Therefore, eligibility for a loan depends on your credit score and report and there is no way in which you can take away the legality from it. That is why it is recommended that you check your credit report from time to time to find out whether or not there is any incorrect data or entry that is affecting your credit.

Sometimes, latest data may not be updated soon by the credit reporting bureaus which will also have a very powerful and serious impact on your finances as well as your borrowing ability.

Most important legal tool

Your credit is the most important factor when you want to avail any loan and your credit report is the most important legal and authentic tool to determine your loan eligibility. When you go through different debt consolidation and debt settlement reviews you will come to know how and why the creditors rely on the credit report of their prospective clients along with other eligibility criteria. Therefor to make sure that your credit score and report is perfect and in accordance with the requirements of the law there are a few specific things that you should do. The first and most important thing that you need to do is to stay organized and have everything in one place. For this you will need to do the following:

  • Personalize your credit info by reviewing your payment history. You must know the status of your credit and how much of it you are using in your credit card, mortgage or installment accounts. You must see and know the balances of each of your debt account.
  • Make sure that your credit score is updated frequently when you watch your free credit score. Usually, credit scores are updates weekly but that may vary according to the policy of the credit bureau. However, when you review your credit report makes sure that you know about the simulators and handy tips that will help you to improve your number which is legally permissible.
  • Always follow the personal recommendations to build your credit and maintain a good score as well. When you check it out from reliable sources you will be able to get in touch with several members and experts within the community forum who can help you with their tips and advice to make smarter and more informed decisions.

Therefore you should check your free credit report anytime and anywhere because:

  • It will cost you nothing
  • There are no strings attached
  • There are no commitments to make
  • The process is simple, easy and fast with you needing to simply sign up with the provider
  • It is very private and secure as the reliable sources ensure that all your info is secured with a 128-bit encryption and most importantly
  • It will not hurt your credit in any way because this is a "soft inquiry" to check your credit score.

In short, it will keep you informed about how good your credit is to apply for a loan and what plans you should make to rectify it if it is found to be below the requirements of the law to apply for a loan and get approved.

However, you may not get a free copy of your credit report or history because that can only be provided by the credit reporting bureaus as per the governing rules.

A few more insights

You will also gain a few more insights regarding your credit report and score to be more confident when you apply with these following facts:

  • There are only there major credit bureaus namely Equifax, Experian and TransUnion who can collect data and sell it.
  • Credit reports are not the same as credit scores as credit reports list your credit history and the credit scores is a three digit number that is created by applying a specific formula to the data.
  • Credit score is the only factor that the creditors consider while determining your eligibility for a loan and your credit history helps them to adjudge how effectively and efficiently you can repay the loan approved to you.
  • Apart from you, your potential employers, banks and utilities and even insurers and landlords can see your credit history with your permission and application submitted with them.

Lastly, you can dispute errors on it and report with the credit bureau to get it rectified within 30 days after investigation according to the law.


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