subject: Good Reasons To Order Your Free Credit Report [print this page] Haven't we all noticed those humorous TV commercials imploring us to send off for a free credit report? I just have to smile at those poor musicians taking any gig to make ends meet. The spots are humorous, but their meaning is undeniable: things can go wrong when you least expect them to, and those things can impact your credit. You may love the commercial, but do you really say to yourself, "it's time to stop what I'm doing, get up and go online for my free credit report immediately"?
Maybe not, but perhaps you really should. Sad but true: when your significant other takes an unauthorized shopping spree just before leaving you for good, or when you become a victim of identity theft, your misfortune may stay on your credit record for a long, long time.
What are good reasons to check your credit score? We can put them into two categories: Possibilities and Responsibilities. A fine credit score can open Possibilities to enhance your lifestyle. On the other hand, a not-so-fine score could impede your efforts to meet your most basic Responsibilities.
Under Possibilities, we have consumer lending vehicles like credit cards, mortgages and auto loans. Under Responsibilities, we find car insurance rates and jobs. Fortunately, I know a way to take charge of my credit: federal law lets me obtain my free credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion once every 365 days.
Just about all of us knows that a bank will check your credit score when you apply for a loan, but not everyone knows that a sub-par FICO score can raise your car insurance payment, or may even hurt your career! This is true: a colleague of mine completed his business degree, interviewed at a Fortune 500 corporation, and soon thereafter heard back from the company. The recruiter had some bittersweet news: my colleague had done very well on the interview, but they could not hire him because of his credit history!
Happy ending: he quickly sent off for his free credit report, repaired the credit problem by paying off a small bill, and was hired. We can excuse him for not checking his credit score sooner because this was before the days of those great free credit report TV spots.
Now that you've heard my great advice, a thought occurs to me: isn't it time to order my free credit report? Just as the commercials point out, bad things befall good people. I wonder if anything has befallen me lately?
