Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

A couple of years ago, while waiting for a police escort (its a long story involving trains, trenches & troopers), I spent a few hours in Montgomery, NY. Yep, you’re right, Montgomery is the home of Orange County Choppers; but they were closed so I sauntered over to a local eatery for a sandwich and espresso. I paid for the food & drink, left a nice tip, and wandered back to my truck. Later that night, amidst flashing lights and speeding trains, I left Montgomery and successfully delivered a load of utility poles to a new substation located just off the New York Thruway.

With my delivery completed I bid farewell to my pilot car driver and stole away into the night; not realizing that I’d left my identity with the winsome waitress in Montgomery. It happened to me and it can happen to you. There are methods I could have employed that might have headed off the theft of my identity but I want to focus, here, on the method I used to discover it: Free Credit Reports.

Getting your free (really…it’s free!) credit report

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) requires that the three nationwide credit bureaus provide consumers (that’s you and me) with a free copy of their credit report, upon request, once every 12 months. Now, you’ve probably gotten an inbox full of email solicitations offering to sell you a service that’ll provide you with a free credit report; don’t fall for the scam. There’s only one legitimate web site from which you can get a free, no strings attached, credit report: AnnualCreditReport.com.

Sooooo…Why should I check my credit report?

A whole lot of your life is tied to the information contained in your credit report. Some companies check the credit of prospective employees, insurance companies use credit information to help determine your rate, credit card and loan applications are accepted or rejected (and interest rates determined) based on credit reports. Considering all this; shouldn’t you be aware of what’s being reported about you, to others, as fact? Yeah, I thought you might agree.

Of course, another reason to check your report on a regular basis is to catch identity theft before you’re contacted by a collection agency regarding an overdue debt you never incurred. According to the Federal Trade Commission web site you should “look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain. Check that information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how.”

Tip: The three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – don’t share information. So even if you correct an error on one report, you’ll have to do the same on the other two.

Be thorough – check all three reports

Since you’re entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major agencies you might want to consider spacing your requests out over the year. For example, you could request your first report from Experian – wait four months and request a report from TransUnion – wait another four months and request a report from Equifax. Following this method you’ll be seeing a credit report from one of the agencies every four months for as long as you like. Of course, if you’re blessed with the same lack of memory that I have you might find it difficult to keep to the schedule.

I use a handy little program called Stickies to remind me that it’s time to visit AnnualCreditReport.com. Stickies is endowed with a lot of cool features but the one that’s most endearing to me is that you can put a Sticky to sleep for a specific period of time. When it awakens it’ll appear on your desktop and act as a reminder. Another endearing quality of the Stickies program is that it’s free!