Avoid Unnecessary Charges With your Free Online Credit Report

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Getting your free online credit report and score seems irresistible. You know you need it, the price is right, delivery is instant…what’s the catch? It’s the required subscription to an ongoing credit monitoring service.

These services can cost between $50- $100 or more per year. You get the option to cancel the service before any charges start, typically within 30 days. If you’re the type who can remember to cancel plans that start with freebies, you’ll be fine if you’re really in it just for the free online credit report.

Subscription plans = ongoing charges

Consumer credit report vendors, like book & record clubs before them, make their way primarily through consumers forgetting to cancel before the free trial is over. Or by getting used to seeing the monitoring data, changing your belief over time that it’s a level of information that’s absolutely needed. (Idea: put a reminder in your electronic calendar to cancel, or at least revisit the decision).

Image representing Experian as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

Another hidden charge is that no credit score is provided with your report (see free fico score). Though some vendors offer a score with the free online credit report, it’s more typical to only get the credit report. Scores are all-powerful determinants of lending decisions and rates for all types of financing, from home loans to auto loans to credit cards, and even insurance rates. A free online credit report without a score is like a math problem without a total-lots of raw data but no final outcome.

What’s more, the free online credit report is pulled from a single bureau. Two other national credit bureaus are left out (the three are Equifax, Experian & TransUnion). The bureaus maintain somewhat different information in their credit files, as creditors don’t always report payment history to all three bureaus, so consumers really need to see credit reports from all three bureaus.

Credit monitoring services: how valuable?

Now let’s look at these services and whether it makes sense to keep them after the trial period. There are a couple of cases where these services may make sense:

If you’ve been the victim of fraud or identity theft in the past, or suspect it in the present.
If you do most of your financial transactions and shopping over the Internet, supplying your credit card information to several sites each month.
If you are targeting a major purchase and want to follow every update to your credit report.

For others, it’s probably easier & cheaper to order your reports once per year, maybe at tax time for ease of remembering. Paid reports let you choose 3 in 1 formats that include all data from the three credit bureaus, with at least one bureau’s score. You can get all three scores as well if you buy from Myfico.com. The reports are delivered online in about a minute. And-you won’t end up with later charges on your credit card bill for that free online credit report.

Latest news on free credit reports-available on request

New federal legislation lets you obtain a free credit report without a credit card from each bureau once per year simply by asking. Started December 1, 2004 and phased in nationwide since September 2005, this service will make it vastly easier to keep your credit profile healthy at no cost, though again, scores are not included.

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Benefits Of Free Credit Reports

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What does your credit report say about you? If you don’t know, take advantage of free credit reports and get up to speed fast.

Why bother checking your free credit reports? Hundreds to thousands of dollars, that’s why. The rates and fees you get charged by mortgage, auto, credit card and even insurance companies depends mostly on your FICO credit score, which is calculated from the report data. A percentage point higher interest rate on a 30-year loan adds up to many thousands of dollars, spiking your monthly payments. With better rates, you can qualify for more home or keep extra cash in your pocket every month.

Prevent these credit problems with free credit reports:

Catch and correct errors that depress your score artificially.
Discover and prevent expensive fraud or identity theft.
Optimize your credit report & FICO score.
Prepare in advance for major credit purchases or loans…

Financial Responsibility in the United States

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…all at no cost. Well, at least during the free trial period, in the case of credit monitoring services. (See free online credit report.) Most vendors deliver them online instantly; in less than one minute you can get started. You can often preview the credit report format on the vendor’s website to know whether it’s easy to read. And, if you find any incorrect information looking like fraud, you’ll already be signed up for the ongoing monitoring service, a valuable ally in the fight against fraud.

These types of free credit reports aren’t always a perfect choice, but they have been one of the only choices. One drawback is that to get a free report from each credit bureau (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), you’ll have to search for three different vendors, as each free report is pulled from a single bureau. It’s important to check credit reports from all three bureaus, as the data is often different. Also, because this source of free credit reports is connected to subscription monitoring services, you’ll get charged a monthly or quarterly fee if you don’t cancel before the trial period ends. That’s one reason why credit cards are required.

Last, these and other free credit reports usually omit credit scores. Credit scores can be thought of as the “net result” of all the information on the report. It’s the number lenders & their computer systems look at to decide if you’re creditworthy. You should ideally benchmark your score at a point in time and measure your activity & credit decisions against it regularly.

Latest news on free credit reports-available on request

New federal legislation lets you obtain a free credit report without a credit card from each bureau once per year simply for asking. Since December 1, 2004 and phased in nationwide in September 2005, this service will make it vastly easier to keep your credit profiles healthy at no cost, though again, scores are not included.

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Free Instant Credit Report No Credit Cards Needed

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Here’s great news for consumers wanting to stay ahead of credit report problems: you can get a free instant credit report no credit cards needed directly from each national bureau, just for asking.

In years past you could only get a free credit report under several circumstances that qualify, including suspected fraud, being unemployed or on public assistance, or being denied credit by any lender that used your credit report in the decision.

Even better, since September of 2005, each credit bureau will give you a free credit report without a credit card, once per year, just for asking due to FACTA, a new amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion & Experian) phased in this service and Western states were first in line in December, 2004. For more information visit the website of each national credit bureau or www.annualcreditreport.com.

If you want a free annual credit report from the government visit the annualcreditreport.com site. No credit cards are needed.

If you want a free credit score then you may have to pull out your credit cards.

All over the Internet, companies are happy to give you this freebie for trying their ongoing credit monitoring services. 30-day trial offers abound and they virtually all include a free credit score.

Does one free credit report tell all?

This free credit report reveals the contents of one bureau’s file on you. As you probably know, there are three national credit bureaus-Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each credit bureau reveals different information on their credit reports. Differences can be slight to dramatic. That’s because not every lender or creditor reports information to all three bureaus. The larger ones do, but smaller accounts may report only regionally, or based on some other preference, but still impact your report & scores.

Credit Scores

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Plus, a free FICO score isn’t usually included. So while a free credit report from one bureau is a helpful start, you may not get a true read on your credit status unless you get a 3 in 1 credit report listing data from all the bureaus, along with your credit scores from each.
3 in 1′s are not free! They typically cost anywhere from $25 to $40, and scores are an additional charge if not included. But there’s no better way to see exactly what your lenders see, especially important ones like mortgage lenders.

To go ahead with the free instant online credit report and score & monitoring service, you’ll complete an application and provide a credit card number. Upon submission and approval, your electronic credit report will be delivered onscreen for review. Some companies will mail the report but this is harder to find. Because of your new membership subscription, you’ll get a login & password for access to return to the site for later review. If you cancel the subscription, be sure to log in before doing so to print a copy of the report for your records.

The company may send you updates whenever your credit report has entries added or changed if you stay with the monitoring service. But be forewarned. Getting updated copies of your credit report depends on the terms you agreed to in the beginning. Many vendors offer a fixed number of credit reports per year, and the first one you receive counts.

Consider the whys behind your desire to get a free credit report, and you’ll know more clearly which option fits you best. The recent FACTA legislation is sure to make your quest for a free instant credit report easier!

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Understanding Your Online Credit Report Before Getting A Loan

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Understanding your free online credit report is one of the most useful things you can do before applying for a loan. This is because your free online credit report, which contains a wealth of information about your personal online credit report score, is the means by which potential creditors/lenders will determine if you are a good credit risk, and a way for them to establish that you have the sufficient and satisfactory credit history for the loan requested.

In this article, we will summarize the standard information contained in your free online credit report, and by doing so provide you with the means to improve your credit score, increase your credit score, determine if you need credit repair and raise your credit score, or if none of the above applies to you, simply to understand your credit score in more depth so that you will be able to confidently get your next loan.

The first step in checking your credit report is to visit the website of the three credit bureaus that currently offer instant, free copies of your credit score. These 3 credit bureaus are (in alphabetical order) Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. Entering your information to access your personal credit report is simple. Just follow the prompts on your screen, and instantly, you will receive a free copy of your personal credit report, which contains five sections:

Personal profile
Credit Summary
Public records
Credit Inquires
Account history

Personal Profile: This first section contains your unique personal credit report information, such as: your legal name, any other name(s) that are related to your personal credit file, your date of birth, your current and previous addresses, and your current and previous employers.

Credit Summary: This second section gives you an overview of your credit status. It shows all of the accounts that are listed in your name, their dollar value, whether you have any bad credit loans, any bad credit cards, and how often creditors/lenders have accessed your credit score through your personal credit report. The Credit Summary section relies on some specific terms to convey this information. These are: Real Estate Accounts (mortgages and other property); Installment Accounts (accounts with set payment schedules), Revolving Accounts (e.g. credit cards and lines of credit); and Collection Accounts (delinquent accounts). You will also find a series of Report Terms. These include: Count (number of accounts in each category); Balance (total of all outstanding balances); Payment (sum of all current minimum payments due when the online personal credit report was generated); Current (number of accounts that have been paid on time); Delinquent (the number of accounts that are past due); Other (all other accounts that have not been included in these categories); Close Accounts (total number of accounts that have been closed); Public Records (number of federal district bankruptcy records, state, and county court records, tax liens, and monetary judgments in your name); and Inquiries (number of times your personal credit report has been access in the last six months).

Credit Inquiries: This third section displays all of the companies that have accessed your credit report. There are two types of inquiries: Hard Inquiries and Soft Inquiries. Hard Inquiries are conducted by creditors/lenders in response to your request for credit/loan. Companies that conduct Hard Inquiries only see inquiries that have been made by other creditors/lenders. Soft Inquiries are conducted by employers when they check your credit score. The names and dates of all inquiries, Hard or Soft, are listed in this section of your free, online, instant credit report.

Public Records: This fourth section of your credit report displays information from federal district bankruptcy records, state, and county court records, tax liens, monetary judgments, and in some states, overdue child support records. This information remains on your credit report for 7-10 years. This Public Records section relies on specific terms to convey important information. These terms are: Type (type of public record); Date Filed (the date that your personal credit record was created); Reference # (your personal credit record’s legal identifying number); Court (the court that has legal jurisdiction over your personal credit record); Plaintiff (the person or company listed in a legal judgment, if applicable); Liability (the dollar amount for which the court decided that you were legally responsible, if applicable); and lastly, Asset Amount (the amount of total personal assets taken into account by the court making the decision, if applicable).

Account History: The fifth and final section of your credit report displays your account history, and includes information on each credit or bank account that you’ve opened. Positive information remains in this section permanently.

Thus, as you can see, accessing your free credit report is a highly effective way to access information about your personal credit score from any of the credit bureaus. Remember, this is a completely free process, and is the easiest, and most effective way that you can obtain your credit report and score, and determine the strategies that you take, if necessary, to repair, fix, improve, or increase your score in preparation for your next loan. Remember, even with flawed credit, you still may be able to access a so-called bad credit auto loan, or a bad credit personal loan.

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