They say the best things in life are free; here’s hoping our free credit reports fit in that catagory.

Starting September 1, consumers in 14 East Coast states join the rest of the country in qualifying for a free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

The free reports were mandated by Congress in The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA), which requires the nationwide credit bureaus to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report, at their request, once every 12 months.

Consumers who want to access their free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report,  can go to AnnualCreditReport.com.

“The right to receive a free credit report is an important new tool for consumers,” said Deborah Platt Majoras, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. “Not only does checking the credit report give consumers a valuable snapshot of their credit histories, it permits them to detect and correct errors, and spot and stop identity theft.”

I like what Chairperson Majoras says about decting errors and stopping identity theft.

When a bank runs your credit, you get the banks interpretation of the report, but if you run a credit report yourself, you can see the findings, and address any errors.

Questions and or comments regarding free credit reports will be answered promptly.