There are two ways to get copies of your credit report. One way is to pay the fee required by the reporting agency. The other is to apply for credit and get turned down. Within 30 days of being turned down for credit you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. However, applying for credit and getting turned down shows up on your report as an inquiry that did not result in credit. It is a small black mark that stays on your report for one year. To avoid this, it may be better to pay the $10-20 fee.
The credit agency will require ALL of the following information:
FULL NAME, ADDRESS, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH, SEX & OCCUPATION/EMPLOYER.
The three major credit bureaus are:
Equifax
Order Credit Report: 800-685-1111
Report Fraud: 800-525-6285
http://www.equifax.com/
Experian
Order Credit Report: 888-397-3742
Report Fraud: 888-397-3742
http://www.experian.com/
Trans Union
Order Credit Report: 800-888-4213
Report Fraud: 800-680-7289
http://www.tuc.com/
Credit bureaus use codes, and the following is a sample of these codes and what they mean:
Who is Reponsible for the Account
J = Joint Account
I = Individual
T = Terminated
M = Maker(signer)
C = Co-Maker
U = Undesignated
A = Authorized User
B = On behalf of another
S = Shared
Type of Account
O = Open account (30 or 90 days)
R = Revolving or option account (open-end)
I = Installment Account (fixed number of payments)
Current Method of Payment
O = Approved, but too new to rate
1 = Pays account as agreed
2 = Pays after 30 days of due date but before 60 days, not more than 1 payment due at any given time
3 = Pays in more than 60 days, but less than 90, or two payments past due
4 = Pays in more than 90 days, less than 120, three payments past due
5 = Pays in more than 120 days
7 = Making payments under wage-earner plan or similar arrangement
8 = Repossession
9 = Bad debt, placed for collection; written off
