A deluge of television and radio ads promoting free credit reports  have certainly caught the attention of many consumers. After all, no one would put so much money into an expensive advertising campaign unless it worked, right?

Take a closer look at what is being offered and you soon learn that there is a string attached to the so-called free offer. You will get your credit reports for free, but you’ll have to pay for a second service – credit monitoring – that you may not need.

How To Get Your Free Copies

Instead of paying for something that you don’t need, why not get copies of your report for free? As a result of an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 2003, Congress authorized the Federal Trade Commission to require that copies of your credit report be made available to you for no charge. Previously, in order to obtain your copy, you would have had to pay a fee for each one. Beginning in September 2005, residents of all fifty states became eligible to get a free copy of their credit report from Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax once annually.

Why were the reports made available at no charge to consumers? Well, even though all three companies operate independently of the federal government, their combined strength carries so much weight in determining your credit standing that a decision was made that everyone should have the right to obtain their personal credit reports on demand. Moreover, since a substantial number of these reports have been determined to include errors, consumer advocates insisted that you shouldn’t have to pay to rectify someone else’s errors. Thusly, the Fair Credit Reporting Act as amended in 2003 became law.

Get It Online Or In Writing

There are several ways you can order your free credit reports, but there is only one web site that will give you your reports for free: www.annualcreditreport.com. Again, only this one site acts on behalf of Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union to give you your reports to you for free.

You can also call the following toll free number to order your free credit reports: 1-877-322-8228

If you wish, you can place your request in writing after downloading and filling out a form found online at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/resources/forms/requestformfinal.pdf. If you choose this method, you will need to mail the form to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

For more information about the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission, please visit the following site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm

When ordering your reports you can also ask for your FICO score. Unlike your free credit report, you will pay a small fee – usually $5 and $8 – to get your score. If you choose to find out your score you can use a credit card to pay for your order.

The three national credit reporting bureaus may also seek to sell other services to you while you are checking off the information for your free credit report. These services include alerts, but you probably don’t need them. If you select some of the other offers, you will be charged for those services, so be careful what you choose.

Resources

Check Your Credit

Federal Trade Commission

Financing Tips

Tags: credit score, Equifax, Experian, Federal Trade Commission, free credit report, Trans Union

Identity theft has gotten to be such a insidious problem that many consumers are requesting that they have their credit records frozen in order to keep thieves from opening up accounts in their names, thereby possibly destroying their credit. 45 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation to protect consumers with only Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Alabama having yet to pass what many consider to be a vital consumer protection law.

A security freeze works by giving consumers the choice to freeze or lock access to their credit file against anyone trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in their name.

All three credit reporting bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax — are notified when a credit freeze is put into place, a move which keeps creditors from checking the credit file. If a consumer needs to apply for credit, they will have access to a personal identification number which they can use to temporarily lift the restriction long enough for a known creditor to access personal information.

State By State Control Over Credit Freeze Laws

Each state sets the parameters of applying for credit freeze for their residents, with most states requiring that consumers pay a fee (usually $10) to have their credit locked. In some cases, states allow consumers with a police report proving identity theft to lock their credit for no charge and more often than not the credit freeze is permanent until the consumer asks that it be lifted. Usually, fees are incurred for the temporary or permanent lifting of the freeze.

Voluntary Participation Helps Other Consumers Too

The three credit reporting bureaus are offering credit freeze protection to those states without legislation on their books protecting consumers as well as for residents of Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, and South Dakota, where state law only protects victims of identity theft.  In those states consumers must contact all three credit reporting bureaus directly to be included.

Of course, if you make regular changes to your credit including changing cell phone providers, seeking new employment, making government and other payments, or do a myriad number of other transactions in any given month, you could find that putting a freeze on your credit is more of a hassle than anything.

If this rings true for you, then buying a credit watch service could be the better choice, one that will alert you every time an account is opened up in your name.

Check with each of the three credit reporting bureaus to learn more about these types of programs.

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Tags: credit freeze, Equifax, Experian, identity theft, TransUnion

Free credit reports. You’ve seen these types of ads before: if you use XYZ’s service, then you can get copies of your credit reports for free. Well, in reality what they are saying isn’t wrong, but you don’t need this type of service to get your copies for free.

Your personal credit reports are available to you for free from each of the Big 3 credit reporting bureaus. Beginning in 2005, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian were instructed by the U.S. Congress to supply one copy of your credit report to you for free annually on demand. If you choose to order more than one copy from the same bureau within that year you will pay for your report. Moreover, if you want your credit score, you’ll have to pay a fee for this service, generally costing you between $4 and $7 per reporting bureau.

Credit Reports, Credit Scores, Credit Monitoring

On the other hand, there are companies who market free credit scores as part of their package of selling to you copies of your credit reports and credit scores. In these situations you are paying for what is already for free elsewhere while getting your credit score included with that price. Essentially you are getting your credit reports and the free credit score as part of a package which usually includes a credit monitoring service as well. Regardless, you will probably pay more for the combined service than if you were to do the work yourself. Again, since it is a service that you are buying, expect to put out some cash if you choose to go with the free credit score with credit report package angle.

Congressional Mandated Credit Reports

For consumers wanting to bypass these types of offers, a visit to AnnualCreditReport.com is a must. Once again, with this scenario your credit report will be free but don’t look for a free credit score. The previously mentioned $4 to $7 fee will be charged to your credit card, but only if you choose to get your score.

Like so many ads you would do best to shop around and read the legal print. Yes, companies do provide a service by offering reports and scores to you. For some consumers this is a great way to have someone remind them to get copies of their reports and scores along with the added benefit of monitoring your credit for you.

Get Your Credit Reports ASAP

Regardless of what method you choose to obtain this vital information, make certain that you obtain a copy of your credit report and scores today. If you are getting ready to make a major purchase (house, vehicle, college tuition) and expect to borrow money, then obtaining this information in advance of applying for a loan is important. Most credit reports contain errors, mistakes which when corrected can lower your interest rates while increasing the odds that you’ll be approved for a loan.

Tags: annual credit report, college tuition, Credit Cards, credit report, credit score, Equifax, Experian, Student Aid, Loans, Trans Union