adminCredit union professionals can alert their members about a new free service to monitor their credit. In a joint action, the three national credit reporting agencies in the United States – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – announced they are offering free weekly credit reports to all Americans for the next year to help them protect their financial health during the sudden and unprecedented hardship caused by COVID-19.The free reports are now available via AnnualCreditReport.com.
The CEOs for each entity provided a joint statement about increasing the free offerings for the next year:
“These are unprecedented times facing the world. People are feeling scared and uncertain about the future. To help play our part and reduce some of that anxiety, we are uniting as an industry to help people know the facts about their financial data. We are making credit reports more accessible more often so people can better manage their finances and take necessary steps to protect their credit standing,” said CEOs Mark W. Begor, CEO Equifax; Brian Cassin, CEO Experian; and Chris Cartwright, CEO TransUnion.
Credit reports play an important role in financial health for consumers, businesses and the economy. Consumer credit reports are a factual record of credit activity and payment history used by lenders, creditors, service providers and other businesses to extend financial opportunities and other offers to people.
Consumers should be checking their credit carefully during the pandemic. Financial experts say the single most important action for consumers who cannot pay their bills right now is to immediately speak with their lenders to find out if there are any assistance options.
The three credit reporting agencies have also worked with their U.S. trade association, Consumer Data Industry Association, to provide guidance to data furnishers on how to support consumer credit reporting during the pandemic.
For additional helpful consumer tips on navigating COVID-19, visit:
- Equifax COVID-19 Credit and Financial Resources Center
- Experian COVID-19 Resources & Credit Education
- TransUnion COVID-19 Support Center
