With all the advertising to obtain a free credit report, does that mean your credit scores are included as part of the report? When looking for detailed credit scores to assess your financial history, many times there is a small fee involved. Each credit reporting agency calculates a score based on the information in your report. The only way to know each credit score is by contacting Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion separately.

There are also options where all three reports can be bought together including all the credit scores. This is called a three in one credit report. Easily obtained through the internet, it gives instant access to your personal financial information within seconds! No more waiting four to six weeks to find the fate of your financial future. Instead of having a lender see your history, now you can take control to securing a strong financial future.

Are you wondering why consumers need to check all three credit scores?

Due to certain information being reported, each agency may have a difference of 20 points or more. Dependent upon which agency is being asked for a background check can be the difference of a 650 or a 700! The only way to make sure every detail on your credit report is true is by checking it annually or bi-annually.

Another name for a credit score is FICO or the Fair Isaac Corporation which provides the scoring for all the credit reporting agencies. An individual?s FICO score can range from the lowest of 300 up to 850. The higher the score, the better financially situated a person is. Lenders and creditors use reports to help determine if giving individuals a loan will be high risk to their company solely based on the credit score. The lower risk an individual poses to a lending group, the better chances they have of obtaining any loan from any bank.

Anytime a lender or creditor runs a credit check, this lowers the FICO score. Too many inquiries are not good when trying to fix this problem. When searching around for a mortgage, the credit agencies do give fourteen days or two weeks to allow the credit to be pulled without dropping your score to cause more strains in your financial future.

To raise a credit score, a person should first review all three of their credit reports to make sure everything being reported is true.

? If there are credit cards which show opened and they have been closed for years, dispute this and get it properly fixed.

? If an item is in collections but you do not remember the account at all, follow the instructions from the reporting agency and file for identify theft.

? If you see constantly late payments on a few accounts, call the credit card company and see if they can either change the payment due date or negotiate a plan to help pay the bill on time.

The only way to raise a credit score is being a proactive consumer, developing a plan individually or with help from an outside source, and sticking to the plan. Open credit cards, misreported information, and consistent late payments all affect your credit score negatively.

Writen By : Lisa Weinberger

Tags: Credit History, credit report, credit scores