Free Credit Reports Across the Board Soon?

A law that was passed back in 2003 allowed every US citizen access to one free credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies per year. Those three major agencies who gather credit data and supply reports to financial institutions who are looking to assess the risk they are taking on when deciding whether to loan you money or lines of credit or not are Transunion, Equifax and Experian. Companies use these reports all of the time to gather data on their potential customers to gauge the risk and to help determine what kind of interest rate they are going to give you.

This is why these reports and the information they supply is so vital to your financial health. A good report can literally mean the difference of thousands of dollars in interest in just a mere year or so of having a loan or line of credit out. You can see why everyone should be interested in not only checking their credit reports, but in keeping them in top shape as well.

The reasons behind the government push for all around free credit reports, to my understanding pretty much whenever you need one, regardless of whether it goes over once a year, has many different thoughts behind it.

Credit history and your credit score, which is a numerical ranking system that companies take into account when they consider what kind of deals to give you, not only contribute to rates received on loans and financial instruments, but they are increasingly used in so many other sectors of your life that can really affect your quality of life now.

One example is that credit scores are often used in determining your rates on car and even home insurance. Insurers look at a good credit score as an extra sign of responsibility. They also look at it as a sign that you will be able to pay your premium on time, which makes you a better candidate for their service.

Even the jobs you go for may order your credit report to help them decide on whether you are a good candidate for different types of jobs. They look for signs that you may not have paid things on time, or have any major delinquencies under your belt, and take this all into consideration when picking who works for them. This is becoming more and more of a common practice since employers can afford to be a little pickier about who they hire.