5 On Your Side

Get free, weekly access to your credit report

Credit report access undergoes big changes.

Posted Updated

By
Monica Laliberte
, WRAL executive producer/5 on Your Side reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Because of COVID-19's impact on jobs, finances and life, you can now get free, weekly, access to your credit report.

It’s available through April 2021, from the three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The report includes information about your credit and payment history.

Photo by Lukas from Pexels

It’s used when you apply for loans or new credit.

You want to check for any errors or signs of fraud that could ultimately impact your credit score.

Some examples:

  • Identity errors, such as a wrong name or address
  • New accounts you didn’t open
  • Account status, for example payments that incorrectly show as late
  • Account balance and limit errors

Dispute any errors as soon as possible.

Through the years, 5 On Your Side’s Monica Laliberte has recommended using the one free credit report available annually, from each of the three credit reporting agencies.

The advice was to get one every four months.

For the next year though, you can access it more often.

There’s only one place to get the free reports: annualcreditreport.com.

Your credit report does not include your credit score. If you want access to your free credit score, consider alternative services provided by credit card issuers.

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