"A poor credit score can be a death sentence to your credit rating"

How many times have you been turned down for credit and wondered why? Thousands of people every day get rejection letters for loans, credit cards, and mortgages: “We have reviewed your information and have decided that on this occasion we will be unable to approve you loan”. How often have you heard that? Well, maybe it’s because you have a bad credit score and don’t even know it. The first thing to do if you think you may have a poor credit score, of course, is to check out your information. But where can you get a copy of your credit report? Well, go to the source. The credit bureaus who actually compile your information and decide your credit score will happily sell you a copy of your credit report.

There are three major credit bureaus in the US: Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. These three companies help to compile the final credit score than banks and money lenders use to decide whether it is worth the risk of giving you credit. You can purchase a copy of your credit report from either of these three companies – or from a number of other businesses offering credit services – for somewhere in the region of $10-15 each. You can hunt down these companies on the Internet using a simple search engine. Simple type “FICO” into the search field and you’ll see a few websites offering credit reports, with links to the individual credit bureaus.

Never underestimate the importance of your credit score. If you want to get good deals on credit, you’ll need to make sure that your score is as healthy as possible. In order to ensure this, you should always be careful to pay any credit bills on time and in full. The credit bureaus know exactly when you make a late payment. Don’t give them the excuse to add it to your credit report.