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

In order to get your copy of your free credit report you will need to provide some information to verify your identity and to enable the agency to find the correct report. This information will include your name, address for the past two years, your date of birth and your social security number. Do make sure you are careful whenever you are giving out personal information of this nature.

There is another option available to you. If you request a copy of your free credit report online, you will be able to see it instantly however if you apply via mail, your request will be processed and sent back to your home address, normally within 14 days. In addition there’s a toll free telephone number to call to request a copy of your free credit report: 1-877-322-8228.

You need to remember that you are only entitles to one free copy of your credit report per year. Ideally this is not regular enough for you to check your report. Every six months is a much better option. So how can you get an additional copy? Well you could contact the three credit bureau’s individually, but this will cost you around $9 per report, totalling almost $30 for all three.

Alternatively you can get your free instant credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion today! Get your free instant credit report from Equifax Experian and TransUnion here, without spending a dime!

Credit counselors, state regulators and debt
collectors all agree on one thing: ignoring a debt collector’s phone
calls and letters is not going to help get rid of the debt. The only way
to really stop them from bothering you is to deal with the debt,
otherwise, it will only get worse.

Here are 4 tips for consumers to help deal with debt collectors.

Avoid them altogether

Contact
your original creditor to work out some kind of payment plan that you
can handle with your current financial situation. Most financial
institutions are open to customized payment plans especially if their
clients request for it. If you don’t contact them, they will sell the
debt to a 3rd party credit or debt collector.

Know your rights

This
might just save you from paying thousands of dollars. The FTC or
Federal Trade Commission has a collection of publications made to help
customers learn about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a law that
protects their rights-under the act, nuisance and harassing phone
calls, abusive language and threats are illegal.

These
should be taken note of and reported to your state’s attorney general’s
office and the FTC. Debt collectors usually have a debt collection
lawyer in California working together with them. Try to ask for the
contact information of the lawyer so that your lawyer can personally
send a complaint to him or her.

Never ignore these phone calls and letters

You
have to reply or work on these notices right away. You have the right,
according to law, to write or call in for a copy of a verification of
the debt being asked from you. Make sure that the debt being collected
is actually yours. You also need to make sure that it’s not old debt.
You could have paid that amount already and the debt collection lawyer
in California is using old data from your original creditor.

Get a lawyer

You
can’t do this alone. It’s easier to get a credit lawyer to help you out
with the situation. They know everything about the system so any
loopholes and problems found in your case can be fixed. You also end up
saying money if you get a lawyer since they will check the debt if it
matches to how much you really owe.