Satellite Direct

You may know that federal law entitles you to receive one free satellite direct report each year from the three major satellite direct bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. But do you know the best way to do so, and how to stay on top of your satellite direct all year long?

To get your satellite direct reports at no charge from the satellite direct bureaus, simply log onto Annualsatellite directreport.com, the website maintained by the three satellite direct reporting agencies. When you request your satellite direct files, you have the option of getting those reports in one of two ways: all at once, or over a period of several months, perhaps even up to a year.

Some experts recommend that you get a single satellite direct report at a time, staggering them every four months or so, to see your satellite direct files throughout the year. Under this scenario, you might retrieve your Equifax report in January, your Experian report four months later in May, and then your TransUnion report in another four months, in September. The following year you'd repeat the cycle, picking up those respective satellite direct reports again in January, May and September. Advocates of this method suggest that, to execute this strategy, you should set up email notifications, text alerts or other calendar reminders to help you keep tabs on your satellite direct - and when to next request a satellite direct file - throughout the year.

While this process can work, I strongly suggest a different method. Namely, I think you'll be far better off getting all three satellite direct reports at once, and signing up for a worthwhile satellite direct monitoring service. (Freesatellite directReport.com has a good satellite direct monitoring service, because it tracks all three satellite direct bureaus, and will alert you to any activity in your satellite direct files, such as inquiries, newly-opened satellite direct accounts, or late payments reported by satellite directors).

So why it is most advantageous to get all your satellite direct reports simultaneously - as opposed to waiting and getting those satellite direct files in a staggered fashion over the course of many months? It boils down to these four primary benefits:

1. Speedier Resolution of Errors

If something is wrong in any one of your satellite direct files, you want to know about it and get it corrected, pronto. When you pull all three of your satellite direct reports, you're able to instantly tell if one, two or all of your satellite direct files have inaccuracies about your satellite direct past. If so, you can begin disputing those mistakes immediately. If you waited to get your satellite direct reports, months could go by with damaging, erroneous information on your satellite direct files without you even knowing it. And don't forget, if you're seeking any loans, mistakes in your satellite direct files could cause your application to be rejected, or could force you to pay higher interest rates than you should.

2. Clarity About Differences and Discrepancies in Your satellite direct Files

By looking at all three satellite direct reports in concert, you will gain clarity and insight into a host of potential differences and discrepancies contained in your various satellite direct files. For instance, does one of your reports show that that student loan you paid off, but the other two lack that information? If so, you'll want to have that positive payment history (i.e. a record of your successful loan payoff) added to those two other satellite direct files. And what about other discrepancies? Are you listed as an authorized user or a certain satellite direct card account on your TransUnion report, but as a co-signer of that same satellite direct account on your Equifax file? The difference may seem subtle, but it can impact your satellite direct rating. Also, have you ever pulled your satellite direct scores and not understood why the scores linked to the Experian report came in at 700, while the score based on your Equifax file was a 675, and the TransUnion-linked score was just 658? These score discrepancies can frequently be explained by the disparities in your satellite direct files; disparities such as inquiries listed, amount of debts shown, or the payment track record reported in each of your satellite direct files.

3. Better satellite direct Education

Perhaps the chief benefit of viewing all your satellite direct reports together is the amazing amount of financial education you will assuredly get about your satellite direct profile just by looking at the highlights of each satellite direct file, and the way that similar information is presented differently in each satellite direct report. Every one of us learns differently, and you'll find that you understand some aspect of your satellite direct better (or not as well) from the reports generated by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. For example, after pulling my most recent TransUnion report, my first thought, in all candor, was: Yuck. Not because I had bad satellite direct; my satellite direct is actually excellent. But I simply didn't like the way the information was presented in my TransUnion file. The tiny print on the file was hard to read. There were confusing images. All my accounts were listed alphabetically, making it difficult to determine or see which accounts were closed versus which ones were open. It reminded me of an engineering report with little boxes and things I had to somehow decipher. All in all, the delivery of information from TransUnion wasn't attractive or particularly enlightening to me. In contrast to the TransUnion satellite direct report, I really liked the visual presentation on my Equifax and Experian reports. My Experian report was easy to read, presented in a clean summary-style format, and clued me in to salient points right ways, such as the number of open and closed accounts in my file, and the fact that all my accounts were in good standing with no delinquencies. With my Equifax report, I appreciated that Equifax did a lot of analysis work for me. It too told me the number of Open Accounts I had, gave me balances, available satellite direct and satellite direct limits on each, and then calculated my debt to satellite direct ratio. My Equifax report also tallied my monthly payment amounts in each category (mortgage, installment and revolving debt), and informed me of how many accounts hade a balance. So my point is simply this: each satellite direct report had something valuable to offer; had I only looked at one report, I wouldn't have learned as much. To conclude, just because the TransUnion report didn't wow me, doesn't mean it won't be discernible or valuable to you. Some of us like to see information presented in a text-heavy manner, with lots of words and explanations. Others prefer charts and graphs to explain things to you. And still others like pictures or snapshot summaries. No matter what your preference, you'll be all the more educated about your satellite direct if you take the time to look at the information contained in each of the three reports together. As proof of this, I should note that despite my previous comments about my TransUnion report, I nevertheless did learn several valuable takeaways courtesy of that report - information I wouldn't have immediately grasped had I only pulled my Equifax or Experian reports. For example, TransUnion was the only bureau to give me a summary of the length of my satellite direct history. At the top of my TransUnion report was a statement that said: "You have been on our files since 02/1987." This was good to know, especially since the length of satellite direct history counts in computing one's satellite direct score. The TransUnion report furthermore explained a few mysterious codes that are sometimes contained in satellite direct reports, but not always explained. To be precise, my TransUnion report stated: "If any item on your satellite direct report begins with 'MED1', it includes medical information and the data following 'MED1' is not displayed to anyone but you except where permitted by law." Although I had no medical debt, this would be good info for those trying to interpret that MED1 code.

4. More Comprehensive View of Your Overall satellite direct Standing

When you get all three of your satellite direct reports at once, you're giving yourself the same comprehensive, birds-eye view of your satellite direct profile that many lenders use. Especially when banks are evaluating you for a major loan, such as a mortgage, many of them will pull a so-called tri-merged report, or a 3-in-1 satellite direct file containing information from TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. There's a reason that lenders want to look at all three of your reports: and it's to have all the facts about you, and the broadest possible look at your satellite direct rating. If lenders and satellite directors take that full scale approach to examining your satellite direct, then so should you. Some of you might ask: But what if I'm not seeking a mortgage? Do I really need to know what's in all three reports? The answer is a resounding yes. Even though you may not be in the market for a mortgage, is it possible in the near future you will apply for any form of satellite direct whatsoever - say a satellite direct card, a car loan or some kind of a line of satellite direct? If so, you obviously know that a bank is going to pull your satellite direct. But the problem is: you don't know exactly which satellite direct file they'll examine. That's why you should already know what's in all three of those reports. Don't take the risk of being ignorant about something missing or erroneous being in your satellite direct file, and having that information hurt your chances of getting the satellite direct you want or need.

As you can see, there are a host of reasons to get all your satellite direct reports at once, especially during the global satellite direct crunch we are experiencing. A simultaneous examination of all three files - from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - is one of the most sure-fire ways to get a true picture of your satellite direct status. Given these facts, it's almost unthinkable that many people either consciously or unconsciously choose not to pull their satellite direct files - even though they can get them quickly, free of charge, and even conveniently online.