Review and manage your credit report

You can check your credit report through a credit bureau (also called a credit reporting agency), such as Equifax, TransUnion, Experian or Innovis.

Their role includes:

• Collecting credit-related information about consumers from lenders
• Maintaining credit files
• Providing credit reports to authorized parties

• Why it's important to check your credit report
• Where to get your credit report
• Get your free annual credit reports
• Get reports directly from each credit bureau (online)
• Request a paper copy (by mail)
• If you find an error: how to dispute it
• If you suspect identity theft

• Confirm your information is accurate
• Identify potential fraud
• Fix issues before you apply for credit

• Catch errors and outdated information - Wrong balances, duplicate accounts, incorrect payment status, or accounts that don’t belong to you can affect your credit score
• Detect identity theft or fraud - New accounts, hard inquiries, or address changes you don’t recognize can be early warning signs
• Prepare for major applications - Mortgages, car finance, rentals, and some employment-related checks (where permitted by law) can rely on report data – checking ahead gives you time to fix problems
• Understand what lenders see - It helps you see how your credit behavior is being reported (for example, utilization, repayment history, and account status)
• Dispute and correct information - If something’s wrong, you can raise a dispute with the credit bureau (and often the lender) to investigate and correct it
• Monitor changes over time - Regular checks help track improvements and avoid surprises

You can get your credit report from the main credit bureaus:

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion
• Innovis (note: your credit report may not include a credit score)

Your reports can vary across credit bureaus, because lenders don’t always report to every credit bureau. HSBC stopped reporting account information to TransUnion in 2016, so your TransUnion file may not reflect HSBC accounts after that point. This doesn’t affect your ability to get your TransUnion report – it just means HSBC accounts may not appear there after 2016.

U.S. federal law allows you to obtain a free copy every 12 months of your Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion credit reports:

Online: AnnualCreditReport.com

Phone: (877) 322-8228

You can also get a credit report directly from the credit bureau’s website. You may need to create an account and, depending on the product, there may be a fee.

• Get your TransUnion credit report
• Get your Experian credit report
• Get your Equifax credit report
• Get your Innovis credit report

Write to the credit bureau directly:

• TransUnion Consumer Solutions – PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
• Experian – PO Box 9701, Allen, TX 75013
• Equifax Information Services – PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
• Innovis Consumer Services – PO Box 530088, Atlanta, GA 30353

If you find an error on your credit report, start by disputing that information with the relevant credit bureau. The credit bureau must investigate your dispute, forward it (and any supporting information you shared) to the company or bank that reported the details, and then let you know the outcome.
You can contact each credit bureau online, by mail, or by phone.