3 Major Credit Reporting Bureaus

There are three major credit reporting agencies in the United States and each is just as important to you as the next. You are entitled to one free credit report from each of the bureaus every 12 months, but when you choose to request them is up to you. You could request your report from one company, then the next company four months later and the last four months after that. This way you get a free credit bureau report every four months and are able to track changes over time. The three bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each company allows you to request your credit report via the Internet at their Web sites or by telephone. The Web sites are:

• www.experian.com
• www.equifax.com
• www.transunion.com

An alternative to constantly going back to their sites or calling for free credit reports is to use a company like IdentityGuard.com, which will request reports from all three agencies for you, as well as offer other safeguards against credit card fraud and identity theft.