Don't forget your free credit report

[Growin'upDisney]

Starting today December 1 - the three credit reporting bureaus are federally mandated to have to provide each and every person one free credit report every 12 months. This roll out starts with the 13 western states.

There is one central location for everyone to go to.

www.annualcreditreport.com (FYI - I think you cannot link directly from this post - you have to type in the URL directly into the address bar)

I suggest everyone take advantage of this. The rest of the country will roll out over the next 3-9 months.

 

[monkeyboy]

For security purposes, www.AnnualCreditReport.com cannot be accessed from the referring website.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Thank you Monkeyboy! I need reminding to check my credit from time to time!

 

[Towncrier]

I checked the link and will have to wait until March 2005 to get my free report. In the meantime, I called 1-800-5OPTOUT to have my name removed from the credit reporting bureau's mailing lists permanently. It turns out that the four major credit reporting agencies routinely sell you name and address to credit card companies for use in mail solicitation for new credit cards.

Major credit reporting companies such as Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, and Innovis sell your personal information to creditors. You can remove your name from all mailing lists by calling 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). Make sure to say that you want your name removed from mailing and telemarketing lists.

I checked several places and the number is legitimate. They give you the option to Opt Out for 5 years (1), Opt back in (2), or Opt Out Forever (3). I guess they are hoping that impatient people will just hit (1). I will be interested to see if opting out of the mailing list will make a difference in the amount of junk mail that I receive.

 

[Growin'upDisney]

Yes the 1800-5OPTOUT is a legit number. I am an attorney in the financial services industry and have been having to keep an eye on all the new federal and state regulations. And yes - more companies than you think sell your information - it's kinda scary.