When to get my free annual credit report

I had been delaying getting my free annual credit report for a number of reasons, but most of those reasons are no longer relevant, so it may be getting close to time for me to request the free annual credit disclosures that every one of us is entitled to through the efforts of the FTC. See AnnualCreditReport.com.

I had been busy and waiting to get my taxes taken care of, but now I am starting to have a little spare time. I did in fact visit the web site and almost requested the free reports, but I decided to wait until the Fall. I want to be a little further away from my bankruptcy back in late 2005, and to have a few more months history on my new credit cards (including a full year on one of them.) I'm not anticipating any activities over the coming six months that might depend on my credit record (such as buying a house), and my record is clearly good enough that it didn't prevent me from getting three normal credit cards without having to pay any special fees or accept onerous terms.

My intention at this point in time is to wait until October and then request my free annual credit file disclosures (for TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax) through the FTC-sponsored web site.

I do have to admit that I cringe at the mere thought of how much credit "debris" I may have on my record due to my bankruptcy, not just the discharged debts, but items that should have been discharged and may still not be annotated correctly.

-- Jack Krupansky