If you merely want to get a current report, by paying a nominal fee, you can either write or call the agency direct. The truly prudent borrower will get reports from all 3 of the agencies. Once you receive your report, take the time to go through all of the data. Included on the report should be an explanation of each code utilized. First of all, make sure that the data is truly about you.
Many names are confusingly similar.
Someone else's social security number may have been transposed and their negative data wound- up in your credit file. Once you have determined that the information is about you, make sure that it accurately reflects your payment history. Don't be intimidated by this process. Many times, FICO scores can be improved. In the case of the borrower who had some late payments and some charge-offs about 5 years ago, we were able to interface with the lenders and convince them that her current regular payment history warranted the deletion of the earlier derogatory reports.