by Robin Tidwell

Created on: November 02, 2009   Last Updated: December 02, 2009

You should check your credit report a minimum of once per year. Not knowing what's on it, and the accuracy of that information, can affect your credit applications, your job, and your insurance costs. The longer incorrect information remains on your credit report, the more difficult it is to make the necessary changes.

The US government site, www.annualcreditreport.com, is the only free site to obtain your actual credit report. The "big three" credit bureaus, Transunion, Experian, and Equifax all offer packages to view your credit report and your credit scores, but all charge a fee. The much-advertised site,

www.freecreditreport.com, is a branch of Experian and will give you, without charge, your reports and score from Experian. Unfortunately, each bureau computes its own score and lenders look at them all.

It will not impact your credit score to request a report. However, when lenders and card issuers make the request, it can lower your score if there are too many such in a short period of time. You can also receive a free credit report whenever you dispute something on the report; all three bureaus allow online disputes and those done by mail. All three sites are secure.

First, check your name and the spelling. This is important. Someone with poor credit can have a very similar name, and yours should be accurate. This will include aliases, maiden name, sometimes your name with or without middle initial, and misspellings. Report any inaccuracies.

Next, check your address. The credit report can list many addresses, usually going back 10-20 years, sometimes more. Unfortunately, they often list any addresses to which anyone ever sent you mail - including bulk mail which may contain gross inaccuracies and misspellings. Click to make corrections, or list these in a document for mailing.

The third section of basic information is your employment history. This is perhaps not so important, but if corrections must be made, include these in the dispute process.

Finally, you come to the credit section. Generally, your accounts in good standing are listed first. Be sure they are accurate and don't show, for example, late payments if there were none. On an inclusive repot, from all three credit bureaus, each will be listed. This is where it gets a bit sticky.

Sometimes creditors don't report to all three bureaus; sometimes they apparently report different things. When you come to the section of "derogatory" credit, pay special attention. If one bureau lists a balance of

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