Guide to Consumer Credit Reports

Learn the lingo on your consumer credit report statement

Although consumer credit reports can be long and quite complex at first blush, they are not impossible to understand. Besides basic identifying information about you -- employment, addresses and your Social Security Number -- there is a list of your credit accounts, both open and closed. Then information on how often you have asked for credit, and if you owe anything besides ordinary credit, like liens or judgments. All this together creates your FICO, or credit score.

I recommend: Discover how to read your consumer credit report with a credit report guide at TrueCredit.

Get your free credit report

As you might imagine, there are dozens of Web sites purporting to provide you with a "free" credit report. Most try to suck you into paying a needless monthly fee for access to your own information. While not illegal per se (they are providing a faster service), most ordinary consumers can wait 30 days for a copy of their consumer credit reports in the mail from the credit bureaus.

I recommend: The only legitimate free credit report site is AnnualCreditReport.com. It was created by the three major U.S. credit bureaus in order to comply with U.S. law requiring a free credit report annually to all consumers.

Ask for changes in your consumer credit report if you find mistakes

It's good practice to ask for and then carefully review the free credit report you get to find any mistakes, like misspelled names, wrong addresses and, most importantly, accounts you don't remember or loans that appear open but you know are satisfied.

I recommend: The Federal Trade Commission suggests you do it in writing and even provides a sample letter. Each of the three credit bureaus, Transunion, Equifax and Experian, offers dispute resolution online as well.

Watch out for consumer credit report scams

Watch out for "credit repair" agencies; for the most part, the work they do is simple and not worth what they charge. Some web sites that offer help with your consumer credit report are actually hawking alternative credit cards at usurious rates. Some, too, simply try to gather enough of your personal data to steal your identity outright.

I recommend: The Federal Trade Commission has a page on how you can legally improve your credit, on your own with no expensive outside help, as well as a good page on how to recognize credit report scams.