Last December the Federal Trade Commission began phasing in a new policy that allows consumers to have access to their own credit report for free.  New York was in the fourth and final phase of the project, and as of a few days ago this benefit is available to all US. citizens.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once a year.

With so many credit cards stolen, identity thefts and just plain mistakes, it is a good idea to see your report so you can find problems and make corrections if needed.  This can all be done on a centralized, secure web site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/.  From this site you can get reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

We decided to try this to see how well it works.  You need to provide your name, birth date, social security number and current address.  Once this is done you may choose any of the three companies, or all three.  Some people say it is a good idea to check one at a time, spacing the reports out over four month periods so that you can check your credit standing three times during the year.

We checked Equifax, and it took us to the company's site.  It asked questions to confirm our identity, which we answered accurately.  However the site could not confirm that we were who we said we were.  It offered the option to download a form to fill out and mail to them.

So we went back to the central site, filled in the information again and picked Experian.  This time, after answering different questions, it produced a report.  It showed 0 "potentially negative" items, good news!  It provided other information including current and past addresses, employer and so forth.

Here we found some surprising data.  It listed an employer that has not been correct since 1991.  We use a Post Office box for a home address.  It was listed correctly, but a note told us "This address might be perceived as high risk, because it is a non residential address."  It also listed the PO Box as the address of a state prison.  It actually was, but not for 12 or more years since we got it.

It listed our street address, too, plus our last street address, both correct.  Then it listed an address that we not only never lived at, but doesn't even exist.

So our personal information wasn't so accurate, but our credit standing was.  The web site offered a way to contest incorrect information, but we chose to let well enough alone since our credit rating was so good.

All in all, getting the free credit report was a painless process.  Typing your social security number into a web site form is a bit nerve wracking, but if you are careful to go to the accredited web site it actually is secure.  The danger is in mistyping the web address and ending up at a bogus site.  For instant peace of mind it was simple and fast.

Additional information can be had at the FTC's web site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm

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