Monitor Your Credit with Triple Advantage from Experian®

Triple Advantage credit monitoring helps you stay on top of your credit and helps protect against identity theft. With instances of credit card fraud and identity theft continuing to rise at alarming rates, actively monitoring your credit can be your first line of defense against identity theft.

Sign up for your free 30-day trial of Triple Advantage today to begin taking control of your credit. With Triple Advantage, you get:

• FREE credit report and credit score just for signing up
• Daily monitoring of your Experian®, Equifax® and TransUnion® credit reports
• Unlimited access to your Experian Credit Report and PLUS Score so you can view your credit file.
• Access to fraud resolution representatives who will assist you if you are a victim of identity theft.
• An online dispute resolution resource helps you correct possible inaccuracies on your Experian credit file.
• Access to online credit resources including calculators, credit articles, and more!

Sign up for your Triple Advantage membership today at the low monthly rate of just $9.95 per month.

Check Your Credit Score Before You Apply for a Loan

Why should you check your credit score? Your credit score is one of the factors that lenders use to determine whether or not to extend credit and the rates they’ll charge you for borrowing. A high credit score often translates to lower interest rates when you borrow. If you’re thinking about applying for a loan, your credit score can help you evaluate your full financial picture. By finding out your credit score, you can research the rates available to you and use that information to negotiate with lenders.

How can you find out your credit score?

While you can get a credit report for free, you’ll need to pay to find out your credit score. Keep in mind that each credit bureau offers its own version of your credit score.

Experian® offers a range of products that offer credit scores in addition to credit reports and daily monitoring. Learn how you can get a FREE copy of your Experian® credit report and credit score with Triple Advantage.

• Your credit score is based on information on your credit report.
• Check to make sure that your credit report does not contain any errors. Inaccuracies in a credit report can impact on your credit score.
• If you find errors in your credit report, you can contact the credit reporting company and dispute the inaccuracies.

Credit Bureaus: Who are they?

The three biggest credit reporting companies – also called credit bureaus – are:

• Experian®
• Equifax®
• TransUnion®

Experian®, Equifax® and TransUnion® use credit scoring models to evaluate and score the information in an individual’s credit report.

Even though the three credit bureaus use similar formulas to calculate a credit score, you can have different credit scores from each one. It depends on how complete, accurate and up-to-date each of the credit reporting company’s information about you is.

Credit Bureaus and Credit Reports

Credit bureaus keep track of a person’s entire credit history. For instance, if you obtained a credit card as a college student in 1985, the credit bureaus would have that information.

Who’s interested in your credit report?

• Banks and other potential lenders gather information from credit reporting companies to help them decide whether or not to extend credit to potential borrowers.
• Insurance companies use credit reports to make decisions about who to insure and at what price.
• Employers often use information from the credit reporting companies to help make hiring decisions on potential candidates.

Credit bureaus and free credit reports

You’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report:

1. If you’ve been turned down for a loan, insurance policy, or a job because of credit.
2. Under federal law – The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT) – all U.S. residents are entitled to one free credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228 to find out how you can get a free copy of your credit report.

Remember: Nobody’s perfect. Not the credit bureaus, or borrowers. But if you arm yourself with information, you can help credit reporting companies see you for the responsible person you really are.

About Credit Reports

Credit reports provide a detailed record of an individual’s borrowing and repaying history. Lending institutions use these credit reports to determine an individual’s interest rate and borrowing capabilities.

What’s in a credit report?

Credit reports are produced by 3 credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (also known as credit reporting companies) – and include:

• Personally Identifying Information – your social security number, current and previous addresses and employment history
• A summary of the number and types of accounts and whether they are in good standing
• Payment history for each account
• Details of accounts turned over for collection action
• Information about past bankruptcy or judgments
• Inquiries made by lenders or other institutions about your credit report

If you have found errors in your credit report, there are ways to correct them. Your credit report provides information on correcting errors in your file.

Taking control of your credit report and reputation

The information on credit reports is used to calculate a credit score. Lenders use the credit score to make decisions about extending credit. It’s important to keep track of the information in your credit report to make sure there are no errors. According to research by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 79% of credit reports contain at least one error-which you have the right to correct.

Credit reports can be free!

Thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT), U.S. residents are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three U.S. credit bureaus.

There are several ways to access your free credit report:

1. On the web: www.annualcreditreport.com
2. By phone: 1-877-322-8228
3. Completing the form in the Annual Credit Request brochure and mailing it to:

   Annual Credit Report Request Service
   P.O. Box 105281
   Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

If you’ve been turned down for a loan, credit card, insurance policy or job due to a negative credit report, you’re also entitled to a free credit report from the credit bureau. So, if you want lenders to see you for the responsible person you really are, be sure you have a credit report that reflects the real you!