Potential employers, lenders, landlords and cellphone companies are among those who use your credit score to make decisions about you.
Starting Dec. 1, you'll be able to check your credit report annually for free.
Residents of Washington and 12 other Western states will be first in line to get free credit reports on request. (Other states will be eligible next year.)
The new law requires the three major consumer-reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and Trans Union — to provide a free credit report once a year to consumers who ask.
Details are still being hammered out. By the end of the month, the Federal Trade Commission will publish information about the Web site address, toll-free phone number and mailing address consumers can use to request their reports, said FTC spokeswoman Jen Schwartzman. Check the FTC's Web site for more: www.ftc.gov.
Your comprehensive credit report will list open and inactive accounts, delinquencies, loans and more. It won't, however, show your credit score, a number that ranges from about 300 to 850 that banks and other creditors use. You'll still have to pay a fee to see that.
But Schwartzman said even without the score, consumers should get a good idea of their status. "If you see more than one delinquency and 10 open credit cards, you're bound not to have as good a credit score" as someone with minimal credit cards that have been paid on time.
With identity theft on the rise, "it's very important for consumers to look at their credit report to make sure the accounts are ones you've opened," she said. If you spot a problem, the document will include phone numbers for contacting the creditor or the consumer-reporting agency to resolve it. Here are the three main credit agencies:
Equifax: 800-685-1111, www.equifax.com
Experian: 888-397-3742, www.experian.com
Trans Union: 800-888-4213, www.transunion.com
If you can't wait for the free reports, for $38.85 you can get all three of your credit scores and reports (this can be useful because each agency's records vary). Go to: www.myfico.com.
