How to Check Credit Scores Online - A Step By Step Guide | Credit Score : Free Credit Scores and Credit Reports Online

Checking credit scores online has become a common practice for most people who are worried about their financial well being. Even for people with good credit scores, checking credit scores online is a recommended practice in order to avoid nasty surprises when buying new property or belongings by taking a loan.

Some Numbers

Statistics on credit card report errors are rife. A United States Public Interest Research Group study in 2004 indicated that nearly 79% of credit card reports contained errors. A similar study by the same group in the year 2006 claimed that nearly 27% of adults do not check their credit scores online or carefully review their credit reports for errors.

If you wish to improve your financial health, you need to get your financial report and review it carefully for errors and inconsistencies. Listed below are a few steps for your benefit – follow these steps to get your annual credit report for free.

AnnualCreditReport.com – This site is government approved and allows you to gain complete access to your credit report in a matter of minutes. Once every year, you are entitled by law to receive a free copy of your report from the three major credit bureaus. However, using this site gives you easier access and allows you to choose the assessment agency from which you want your credit scores. For instance, if you want the credit report from Equifax only, you can do this by clicking the check box on the website.

Step 1: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com and when you are on the homepage, select your state from the dropdown menu. Next to this dropdown menu is a red button that says request report. Click the button once you have selected your state.

Step2: Once you have clicked the request report button, a screen requesting your personal information will be seen. You need to enter the right information here and correctly fill in the fields marked with the red stars. If you are printing this report, you do not need to have your social security number displayed. A check box will be available on the screen which gives you that option. This will ensure that only the last four digits of your social security number are displayed. Once you have entered your social security number, click on continue.

Step 3: On this page, you will find checkboxes with the names of three different credit bureaus- Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Select the bureau or the bureaus from which you wish to receive your credit reports.

However, bear in mind that you cannot access your credit report up to a period of 12 months from then. You can check one report every four months in order to keep tabs on your score every four months. Once you have clicked next and received your report you can navigate back to the home page by clicking home.

Keep these steps in mind while accessing your annual credit scores online and studying your credit report.