7. How does a credit reporting agency help me?

If you’re like most consumers in the United States, your ability to own a home, purchase a car, finance a college education, travel and make routine purchases hinges on your responsible use of credit. Having a credit report makes your financial references immediately available when you want service and ensures that you have access to review the information used to make decisions about those services.

Because an automated credit reporting system works quietly in the background on your behalf, you have many options in your financial life. For example, you can:

• Purchase a home in one area of the country based on the good credit record you established while living in another part of the country.
• Shop for and be offered financial services from institutions anywhere in the United States
• Pay for emergency medical treatment, a broken water line repair or other unexpected service needs
• Negotiate a deal for a new car and drive it off the lot within a few hours

Credit reporting also helps foster intense competition among financial services providers. This competition provides you with:

• Lower interest rates
• Reduced annual fees
• Increased access to credit
• Special toll-free customer service phone numbers
• Customer recognition programs
• Purchase protection plans and other benefit