Federal Law requires the three major credit reporting agencies Trans Union, Experian and Equifax to provide you with one free credit report annually.

Everyone should take advantage of their right to a free annual credit report. Order yours at the same time each year, on a date that you will remember. You should check your credit reports thoroughly for mistakes, and dispute any inaccurate findings.

For many people, interpreting a credit report and coping with errors is a daunting task. Credit reports are full of unfamiliar language and codes. They're not written for the average person to read or understand. Even more intimidating can be the job of disputing items to contest or correct any mis-information.

Correct Any Mistakes:

Credit reporting agencies regularly have mistakes in their reported information. Studies have shown that a large percentage of credit reports contain mistakes of some kind.

• 79% of credit reports contain serious errors, false delinquencies or accounts that do not belong to the consumer.

• 41% of credit reports contain personal demographic identifying information that may be long-outdated, belong to a complete stranger, or is otherwise incorrect.

• 26% of credit reports contain credit accounts that have been closed out by the consumer but remain listed as open.

• 20% of credit reports are missing major credit, loan, mortgage, or other consumer accounts which are crucial in demonstrating the credit worthiness of the consumer.

It's likely that you may have some items on your credit reports which need to be questioned and/or corrected. Each one of the web sites of the three major credit reporting agencies has a consumer resolution page. Be prepared to use it.

Handle Your Credit Problems:

You may have had major credit issues at some particular point during the past. Reviewing this could be emotionally draining, and will likely bring up reminders of the situation that was the cause of your credit issues. Nevertheless, burying your head in the sand is not going to make anything go away. Facing the issues head on and and managing them as best you can is the only way to move past it all and re-establish a solid credit history.

Find out how long the negative items will stay on your credit report. Read the article on our blog 'Tips to Improve Your Credit Score' for suggestions as to the best ways in which to improve your credit rating.

The site where you may order your FREE annual credit reports is: www.annualcreditreport.com

Following is the contact information for the 3 major credit bureaus where you may dispute any inaccurate information contained in your credit reports.

Equifax

(800) 685-1111

www.equifax.com

Experian

(888) 397-3742

www.experian.com

Trans Union

(800) 916-8800

www.transunion.com