There are three bureaus which report credit and they are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian [three major credit bureaus]. Each of these agencies gives you a different report. This is because some companies report to only one or two of them and not to all three. Other companies exclusively use one and not the others. It is hard to say why the reports vary so much from bureau to bureau but they really do. The best way to be sure you are getting the full picture when it comes to your report is to get your 3 free credit reports from all three agencies annually. You have the option to do this once a year for free. However, If for some reason you find that you don’t need your 3 free credit reports instantly cancel them so that you still have the option of ordering them for free later in the same 12 month period. If you or anyone in your immediate family is a member of the armed forces then you should also be aware that there is an option to get 3 free credit reports for military members and their families. If you are out of options in terms of your 3 annual free credit reports then you should try looking for a service that will let you do a trial membership and provide 3 free credit reports without credit card online.
There are so many reasons why getting your 3 free credit reports is important but one of the main reasons is that you can never be too careful about what is being done with your credit report. There have been a lot of horror stories in which people have had their credit all but destroyed by circumstances that they had no power over. Either someone had made a terrible error on their report or perhaps someone had stolen their information and used it to obtain credit cards or loans and then defaulted. In some cases it is a matter of computer glitch or error. Of course, most of the time when someone has poor credit it is because they have allowed it to fall to that point but nonetheless there are some instances that are not within our control. Obtaining our 3 free credit reports every year is an awesome way to safeguard ourselves from these things. After all, credit is something that can take so long to repair, why let it falter to begin with?