This article about 3 credit reports was written to answer many of the most common questions. I hope you find this information useful.
There are many ways in which a 3 credit report can be useful. There are three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each has its own information about your credit, so you have to use all three to get a good credit report. You can get a three-credit-report package for about $24, which will tell you everything you need to know about your credit, so you don't have to waste your time with a "free" online credit report.
Many places need to see your 3 credit report before they'll let you in. Knowing your credit record can give you an idea of how likely you are to get different kinds of services. For example, if you have a bad credit score, you won't be able to get a home loan. You also won't be able to get low-cost life insurance, a credit card with a low APR, or even a lease on a house or car. So knowing your three credit reports can save you time and keep you from wasting time applying for services you won't get.
Another benefit of knowing your 3 credit report score is that it can tell you if your identity has been stolen or if you have been scammed. If, for example, someone has been opening accounts in your name without telling you or paying for them, this will show up as a bad score on all three of your credit reports. This will let you take the right legal steps to get them taken off your record and help the police find the person who did it.
It can be a big hassle to get the bad fraud charges off of your 3 credit report score. Someone filled out an application for a cellphone in her name in Detroit, but the company wouldn't believe it wasn't her, even though it was at a different address. To make them believe her, she had to show them her ID and mail, as well as the title to her house to prove where she lived. They didn't believe she was telling the truth about the address until she showed them a lot of proof. What a bother.
You can improve your credit score in many ways. One way to show that you can be trusted with credit is to have credit cards and pay them off on time every month. This can also help if you always pay off your balance and pay your gas, phone, electric, and other bills on time. In the long run, it pays to keep your credit in good shape because it gives you access to better interest rates, bigger lines of credit, equity lines of credit, home equity lines of credit, low-interest credit cards, and all sorts of other financial benefits you wouldn't have otherwise. It's simple, and you have nothing to lose.
