Wizzard
9 May 2007, 17:59
Many people are checking their credit reports on a regular basis. The main question people have is "What is the best site to use?" If you suf the internet, watch television you will see several advertisements for websites to get a copy of your credit report.
Some websites will provide you with a free credit report but it is what is called a "merged" credit report. What this means is you will receive the report with information from all credit reporting agencies (CRA). There is a strong possiblity portions of the "merged" report are not yours.
Look at it this way. You are at your desk at work, home or school. On top of your desk you have one sheet of paper that contains information you need to track. If you need the information. . . it is right there. It is pretty simple and easily managed. On the other side of the coin, you have several papers on your desk, lets say between 50 and 60. All of them contain different information that needs to be tracked. You learn you need information from 15 different papers to be sent to 15 different people. How easy is it to get information sent to the wrong location? Very easy...and it happens.
I get many instances where people get a "merged" credit report and find several accounts that are not theirs. They panic thinking they are a victim of identity theft.
Solution: If you are going to get a copy of your credit report, find out before you order or request it, do they merge all CRA's into one report. If they do this you may want to contact another company or website.
Some websites will provide you with a free credit report but it is what is called a "merged" credit report. What this means is you will receive the report with information from all credit reporting agencies (CRA). There is a strong possiblity portions of the "merged" report are not yours.
Look at it this way. You are at your desk at work, home or school. On top of your desk you have one sheet of paper that contains information you need to track. If you need the information. . . it is right there. It is pretty simple and easily managed. On the other side of the coin, you have several papers on your desk, lets say between 50 and 60. All of them contain different information that needs to be tracked. You learn you need information from 15 different papers to be sent to 15 different people. How easy is it to get information sent to the wrong location? Very easy...and it happens.
I get many instances where people get a "merged" credit report and find several accounts that are not theirs. They panic thinking they are a victim of identity theft.
Solution: If you are going to get a copy of your credit report, find out before you order or request it, do they merge all CRA's into one report. If they do this you may want to contact another company or website.