Amount Owe, Account Number...?

Q: I would like to consolidate all my debt. However I have so many debts out there that i dont know who i owe anymore. I admit that is sad, but I just got a job and want to pay it all off. Is there any way that i can find out who all i owe and how much? Will a credit report show all my creditors, amount owe, account numbers, and so on? Also the sites I have been receiving are for consolidation loans. I would doubt that a person with bad credit would even qualify for a loan. If they did the interest would be high. Are there any organizations out there that would help me out?

A: You may want to start with the three major credit reporting agencies, about $8 or so per agency unless: 1. You have recently been turned down for credit, a job, insurance, or a place to live based on your credit report, (There may be some limit like 30 days.) 2. Been a victom of identity theft, 3. Or live in a state where the credit reporting agencies are compelled by law to provide a free credit report each year. The states are (from an unconfirmed list): New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, Colorado, Georgia, and Vermont. These are the three major credit reporting agencies web sites--you should be able to find information on how to order your credit report (I think only one of them will show you the report online--the other two will only mail the report): http://www.experian.com/ http://equifax.com/ http://www.transunion.com/ I would recommend getting a copy of your credit report from all three major credit reporting agencies--it is common for a ceditor may report to just one or two CRAs, so to get all your reporting creditors may require all three reports. Reporting creditors will usually have some kind of contact information, or you could write back to the CRA to get contact information if needed. The information may be out of date--balances are often 1 to 6 months out of date--so the credit report should be used to find the creditors, but you should contact each creditor to get the actual balance. The Motley Fool has a brief article on the credit report at http://www.fool.com/credit/cardtricksstep10.htm

that might help as a brief overview. The big three credit reporting agencies may have additional information on their web sites, e.g., Equifax has a FAQ at: https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/webapp/ConsumerProducts/PageFrameSe... ?payloadName=pgFAQCredit.jsp Note: creditors are not required to report your accounts to one or more CRAs, so it is entirely possible that the credit reports of the big three CRAs won't show all creditors. Likewise, it is entirely possible that full account numbers or even partial account numbers won't be reported. (My credit union's VISA accounts, for example, are reported to the CRAs but omit one of the digits of the account number.