There are so many reasons to pore over your credit report, that many people become obsessed with their credit scores. Paranoia over identity theft is very common in this cyber-age, and rightfully so. In addition, the rocky employment statistics and volatile economy have people scrutinizing their credit reports on sometimes a monthly basis.
This begs the question, “How often should I check my credit report?” The real answer is, “As often as you want to.”
Since it’s your credit report, you can check it as often as you want to. There won’t be any repercussions on your credit score due to frequent requests on your part. This is not true, however, with requests from third parties.
Whenever you apply for a loan, the crediting agency, whether it’s a bank, savings and loan, or credit union, has to get your permission to access your credit report. They cannot legally get your credit report without your permission. This should be no problem, but, if you are shopping for good terms on a loan or a credit card, there are some things you should do to protect yourself.
For example, say you want to buy a car. You don’t want to mess with car salesmen, you’re just going to use your credit union to finance the car, period. In that case, let the credit union check your credit report.
However, if you plan to compare loans, you need to use a different strategy. Money is so tight these days, that car dealerships, among other high-dollar retailers, are offering very competitive rates for seller-financed loans. But, keep in mind that every credit check performed by a third party is recorded on your credit report. One or two, here and there, are no big deal. But, if you let every dealer run a credit check on you, you suddenly have an influx of several potential creditors on your credit report. This looks bad, even if you were being smart and playing the field. Most of the time, it damages your actual credit score, because it looks like something has happened to make you desperate for quick money.
The best way to handle this scenario is to get your credit report, yourself. Your requests don’t show up on the report. Take this report with you when you shop for a car loan, and they can base their quote on that. This way, you can get your range of quotes without multiple inquiries showing up on your report. Once you make your final decision, your lender can get their own official copy of your credit report for their records.
Everyone should check their credit report at least once a year. You may be to the point where you can begin repairing your credit, or maybe you wonder if your identity was stolen. You may have been denied credit, and wonder why. If you think things are amiss with your credit report, you can hire a credit repair agency for very low fees. They are experts at fixing credit reports.
