So what exactly is the difference between a regular credit report and an instant credit report? I was curious about the answer since every time I looked into obtaining my credit report, I found certain websites enthusiastically offering an instant credit report. What I found was that most credit reports actually are instant, so it doesn?t matter. Obviously, the difference is time. The time is mostly determined by the form in which you plan to receive the credit report.
Your credit is tracked by three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Tans Union. By law, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report once every year. You can obtain the report through the federal government. Whether or not it is an instant credit report depends on how you order it and how you choose to receive it. Whether you want a printed paper by mail or an email with the information will play a big role in whether or not your report will be quick, and therefore, instant.
If you choose to get your credit report through on line means and then have it emailed to you, it will be an instant credit report. The information is available to the reporting agencies, and no matter which one you choose to use, or if you choose all three, the information is immediately available and can be tracked via your social security number, name, and address. Once that information is given to the agency, their database can do it almost instantaneously. This means, then, that what you have is an instant credit report.
Another way to obtain your credit report from the agencies is to write to the Federal Trade Commission. Perhaps you do not trust your information going over the internet. If that is the case, you can write to the government and get your free annual credit report. The information will be processed and the report will then be mailed to you. The entire process may take several weeks, so what you receive could not be considered an instant credit report. However, using the mail to request your credit report may make you feel a little safer than the internet.
A third way to get your credit report would be by calling. You can call the Trade Commission or one of the agencies. Again, you are entitled to a free report every year, buy how you go about it is up to you. If you call, you will still need to submit your name, address, and social security number to get a copy of your report. By using the phone to place your order, it won?t take as long as writing in for it, but it will still take time as they will have to mail it to you still. Therefore, it still wont be an instant credit report.
We live in a world that is focused on instant gratification. When it comes to getting your credit report, you can achieve the instant gratification, but only if you choose to do it online. Online, you can get your instant credit report by visiting the Federal Trade Commission website or, perhaps, the websites of one of the major reporting agencies.
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