New YearHappy new year, happy new queer!

The daylight hours are now gradually getting longer, a new calendar will soon hang on your wall, and it’s a perfect time to make a resolution to better yourself somehow in the coming year.

Something I tend to neglect, even with my fairly responsible use of credit, is keeping close tabs on my credit reports with the major agencies. It is *very* easy for wrong information to get into your credit report, everything from a minor typo to major errors of fact. (My partner has the same name as his father, and suffered for years with black marks on his credit due to his father’s mistakes.)

So in 2007, I resolve to get all three of my credit reports from each of the major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax). This used to be cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive (being charged up to $10 each just to find out what all your creditors already know about you).

However, in 2003 Congress passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act , and it was signed by President Bush on December 4, 2003. Among other things, the FACT Act entitles every American to a credit report from each of the nationwide agencies, free, each year.

You can do this quite easily by going to AnnualCreditReport.com, or by calling (877) 322-8228. (You can also request a form from Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta GA 30348, fill it out, and mail it back, but you have a computer obviously so why bother with snail mail?)

Watch out! There are many predatory knock-off sites, which come up if you google “free credit report.” They are filled with spyware, advertisements, and attempts to get you to buy something. Don’t. Just go right to the congressionally authorized source, AnnualCreditReport.com.

Also, don’t go directly to the agencies. They will usually charge you (unless you have recently been denied credit, insurance, or a job due to their credit report on you). But if you go to AnnualCreditReport.com, you can get each of them for free. Yes (sigh) you have to apply three times, once for each agency, but it’s really worth it.

Congress has not yet authorized free online access to your FICO score, that magical number between 300 and 850 that lenders often use. You *can* go to myFICO.com and pay to see it, but I have a better suggestion: just ask someone who knows. When I bought a car this year, I asked the sales guy what my FICO score was and he simply told me. I did the same thing with my realtor when I bought a house three years ago.

So that’s my resolution: get all three credit reports on me by the end of January, study them, and correct any problems. I hope this is useful to you, too!