Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson is urging consumers to take time to review their credit reports now that holiday bills are coming in. Federal law provides people with one free report annually from each of the three major credit reporting agencies.

“People who got caught up in the hectic pace of holiday shopping may not have taken steps to protect their personal information,” Bronson said. “Most credit card bills are now coming due so it’s the perfect time to make sure there are no unauthorized charges on their accounts or other fraudulent activity that could impact their credit.”

It’s been nearly five years since a change was made to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that requires the credit reporting agencies to provide a free report to consumers who request one. The change was made to encourage consumers to identify potential identity theft quickly.

A credit report contains information about a consumer’s credit history, including a listing of all credit cards, loans, bill payment history and bankruptcies. Major consumer reporting agencies sell the information to credit card companies and other creditors, insurers, employers and businesses that review it when consumers apply for credit, insurance, loans, and employment. A poor credit history can result in rejection of credit or higher interest rates on a loan or credit card.

Bronson says people should not get all three credit reports at once, they should space them out twelve months so they can monitor their credit throughout the year. The credit reporting agencies usually have similar information so checking on reports throughout the year enables people to quickly spot mistakes or fraudulent activity.

“It can take months or even years to learn about credit problems if you are not paying attention,” Bronson said.

The three major credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. To obtain a free copy of reports from these agencies, log onto http://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp.

People should be wary of any other sites which claim to offer free reports but steer consumers to sites that offer services by subscription for a fee. Consumers can also order their reports by calling toll-free 877-322-8228.

Source: Office of Commissioner Charles Bronson