Best pay compies for looking at your credit report?

[APL]

I have never subscribed to a company to look at my credit report (other than the free annual credit report).

Which are the best ones with the best rates, and how often should I be looking at it?

I have been reading here about disputing mistakes, such as old addresses and incorrect information, and I don't even know how to go about it. I am as much a newbie to looking at my credit report as I am to the BK process.

Any suggestions for companies to which to sign up with?

Any links as to how to read your credit report and what to watch for as far as errors worth disputing?

Thank you.

ETA: Any point in starting a service like this before I have even filed? If not, how long after BK should I start?

[LadyInTheRed]

You don't need to pay for a service to get your credit report and correct errors.

You can download your free annual reports for all three agencies at annualcreditreport.com. The reports will include instructions on how to dispute errors. Each agency's website also has information on disputing errors.

Equifax - www.investigate.equifax.com
Experian - www.experian.com
TransUnion - www.transunion.com


You might as well wait until after your discharge to worry about correcting errors on your credit reports. Wait until 60 days after discharge to give all of your creditors the chance to get through their reporting cycle.

You may want to stagger your free reports by requesting a report from one of the 3 agencies every 4 months. Most creditors report to all 3 agencies, so you'll catch most errors quicker if you are looking at a report every 4 months instead of every year.

When you get your report, you will get instructions on how to dispute an error. Each company also has instructions on its website.

When you sign up for a subscription service, you are paying for credit monitoring, usually including your FICO score or some other proprietary score. This really isn't necessary as you can sufficiently monitor your credit using the free annual reports. If for some reason you need a report before a year passes, you can pay for a report when you need it instead of paying a monthly fee. You can get free monitoring and score at creditkarma.com. It isn't a FICO score, but it is a good way to get an idea of what your credit score looks like and to monitor changes to your credit report and how they affect your score.