Q: I would like to get a copy of my credit report. I’m always seeing commercials on TV for “free” credit reports. Are these offers legitimate?
A: Watch out for those “free” credit report offers! They require you to sign up for a monitoring service, using your credit card in order to obtain the “free” report. You will be required to cancel the monitoring service within 30 days or your credit card will be charged as much as $99 for an annual membership fee. These companies count on people forgetting to cancel the trial membership and not asking for a refund.
Many consumers still don’t realize that they are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three national credit bureaus. To order your free report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free at 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form on the Federal Trade Commission website (www.ftc.gov).
If you notice any inaccuracies on your credit report, you have the right to dispute the information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Each credit bureau’s website lists instructions on correcting an error so contact them right away to fix your report.
Mike Schiano
Mike’s new show can be heard online at Young Money Radio
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annualcreditreport.com does provide a free credit report, but it does not provide you with free credit scores. YOu can acutally get all 3 credit reports with all 3 scores for for free at http://www.my720fico.com, yes you have to give them a credit card, but its a free trial offer for 7 or 30 days depending which one you get. All you have to do is call back and cancel once you have recieved your report with Scores. A credit reort with no scores is like a destination without a address, useless. I am lender I should know. Plus you only get your free credit report with no scores once a year at annualcreditreport.com. You need to check you credit reporat at least once a quarter for fraud. There are also other credti report offers here as well. Good Luck.
You’re correct in saying that my720fico is one of the many websites that will give you all three credit scores if you sign up for a membership. However, I’d advise readers to review the cancellation policy on such websites before signing up for a free trial. These companies often make it hard for you to cancel because they don’t want people signing up just to get free scores. After all, they’re in business to make money not to give away free scores.