10.01.08 | Winning the Free Credit Report Game (and why you want to)
I saw a commercial last night that annoyed me. It was from one of those free credit report websites and it featured 350 different people saying “free, free! Hey did we mention free?” I don’t know about you but when somebody flashes “free” in my face repeatedly, one thing I am certain of is that it’s not free.
So what is the deal with these offers? Are they free? Why do you care? Â What is the real cost?
Well ladies and gentlemen tell your friends, tell your sister, tell your mom and tell your parole officer because I’m going to give you the scoop today and it is truly going to be free.
Can you honestly get a free credit report? Yes you can but don’t use any offer except the one the US Government makes the 3 major credit bureaus provide (see the link at the bottom for this). This is a great and you should take advantage of it to ensure there isn’t anything on your report which is incorrect and could potentially harm you. Here’s the thing though, credit reports do not contain your credit score and credit scores determine whether or not you get approved for things such as loans and credit cards. So while you can in fact get a free credit report, you can’t actually get your credit score for free except as I describe below.
Companies that offer you free reports an scores offer you a free trial of their monitoring services which you can cancel in usually 7 or 30 days. This means you get the first report and current scores for free along with suggestions for improvement and after the trial period you start getting billed for the service.So as long as you are willing to sign up and then cancel right after you get your information you can get it for free. Below I provided a list of the top offers for this. If you really wanted to work for it you could sing up with one of them each month then cancel and in effect get several months of monitoring for free!
Before you think I’m telling you to scam these services I should add that depending on where you are financially this might actually be valuable. I personally use such a service. I pay $9.99 per month to be able to pull my current score and report anytime I want. For me it’s worth it and I’ll tell you why.
About a year ago I paid off a credit card but about $2 accrued interest showed up the next month I didn’t notice.The company never told me but they were more than happy to charge me a $30 late fee twice and add a derogatory 30 day late comment on my credit report.
My credit monitoring service sent me an alert and I was able to immediately pay them the $62 I now owed. Had I not received that notification I would have gone over 90 days late and that would have seriously damaged my credit. So for me I view the $9.99 I pay each month as credit score insurance. Plus I get to check my score often and that makes it fun and rewarding to watch rise as I take steps to improve it.
Whether you decide to actually pay for credit monitoring or just take the trial I strongly suggest you at least take advantage of one of these trials. It’s pretty simple, sign up for the trial, get your reports and score then cancel your account withing the trial period specified. Â There’s your “free credit report and score” the cost was a little work on your end to cancel but that’s a small price to pay.
If you are looking for a free credit score and report you are in luck. StudentPlatinum has teamed up with FreeCreditReport.com (Yes, the company with the “amazing” commercials) to provide you with this free offer.
Free Credit Report Offer: Get Your Credit Score for FREE!
Members of www.ScholarshipPoints.com can use the code: SCORESCAM to get themselves 20 points for checking out this blog!
The Student Credit Blog is sponsored in part by:
very helpful
December 14th, 2009 | #
good info!! very helpful!
December 13th, 2009 | #
This was really helpful!
December 10th, 2009 | #
really helpful, thanks for the info.
December 10th, 2009 | #
Good information.
December 10th, 2009 | #
good stuff
December 9th, 2009 | #
nice article..good to know
December 8th, 2009 | #
i THOUGHT CREDIT REPORTS AND STUFF WASN’T FREE
December 7th, 2009 | #
nice article
December 5th, 2009 | #
GREAT INFORMATION!!!!
December 5th, 2009 | #
I dont think ill ever get a credit card lol.
December 3rd, 2009 | #
great info
December 3rd, 2009 | #
very informative thanks for the article
December 2nd, 2009 | #
THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL I APPRECIATE WHAT THE AUTHOR DID. IT HEPLS ALOT!!!
November 30th, 2009 | #
Good to know!
November 29th, 2009 | #
Very Good article. Thank you for the information
November 29th, 2009 | #
Thank you for a good article. Good information.
November 29th, 2009 | #
knowing your credit report and score is important
November 24th, 2009 | #
I agree and thank you this was wonderful
November 23rd, 2009 | #
excellent adive. getting your credit score is not always free, but for anyone who wants to know there credit score go to http://www.creditkarma.com.
November 23rd, 2009 | #
Good to know, thank you.
November 23rd, 2009 | #
I agree.
November 21st, 2009 | #
Wow! I didn’t know a lot of things on here!
November 21st, 2009 | #
this really helped me realize the importance of credit.
November 19th, 2009 | #
I’ve paid for my credit report before. never again.
November 19th, 2009 | #
Cool.
November 19th, 2009 | #
im just not goin to get one…
i have a spending problem
and i dont want to be in debt
to my eyeballs…
November 17th, 2009 | #
helpful
November 15th, 2009 | #
good info
November 15th, 2009 | #
very useful info
November 12th, 2009 | #
This is really going to help me when I have to get my credit score.
November 12th, 2009 | #
this helped.
very useful
November 11th, 2009 | #
this information helped me to rethink the way my credit is used, thankz for the information
November 9th, 2009 | #
Usefull
November 8th, 2009 | #
Good information indeed
November 5th, 2009 | #
helpful article…I hate all those commercials though….
November 4th, 2009 | #
Good reference to the amatuers and credit!!
November 2nd, 2009 | #
Thank you for this.
October 30th, 2009 | #
This was very helpful
October 20th, 2009 | #
Great it was helpful You can gety your credit free one time a year if you want it.
October 19th, 2009 | #
helpful article
October 18th, 2009 | #
I would actually suggest using truecredit.com for credit monitoring. It only costs me $14.95 a month and I get unlimited score reports and credit report updates whenever I want. It sends me alerts in my email when there’s been any change to my report, including just inquiries (when someone looks at your credit report).
October 14th, 2009 | #
I have a credit card but need to not use it so much.
October 14th, 2009 | #
ÃŒ don’t have a credit card. Because I prefer ATH.
October 4th, 2009 | #
that was very helpful
October 3rd, 2009 | #
very helpful!
October 3rd, 2009 | #
Yeah, at first because I was young I was pretty gullible..But it’s okay I’m a senior in high school now and when I see a flash on the screen that says FREE! I’ll just roll my eyes and run~ I mean change the channel.
September 24th, 2009 | #
good advice…now can you talk about how difficult it is to get derogatory information off of your credit report? not an easy task!
September 14th, 2009 | #
Very Helpful. I agree with the author that nothing is free
September 3rd, 2009 | #
Very helpful. I agree with the writer on nothing being free
September 3rd, 2009 | #
This is great, credit reports are so important!
September 3rd, 2009 | #
Woo hoo! I have a 711!!!!
August 26th, 2009 | #
Good info about credits.
August 22nd, 2009 | #
This is very good info and very helpful. If you dont have faith in God you better have good credit.
August 19th, 2009 | #
that’s so iteresting!
August 19th, 2009 | #
i really enjoyed!
informative, interesting, and helpful.
August 14th, 2009 | #
very good info to know for the not so distant future
August 12th, 2009 | #
THIS REALLY HELPED
August 11th, 2009 | #
this was very good information
August 9th, 2009 | #
very informative. I use bank of america credit alert and sends changes directly to my phone
August 7th, 2009 | #
Credit info very valuable!
August 3rd, 2009 | #
very interesting & helpful!
July 31st, 2009 | #
This was very interesting information!!!
July 29th, 2009 | #
Worrying about credit sux but i think this will help alot!
July 28th, 2009 | #
tHIS WAS VERY INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE = )
July 27th, 2009 | #
Credit reports are a great, simple way of protecting yourself for the future.
July 25th, 2009 | #
Thanks for this valuable info.
July 15th, 2009 | #
I got my credit reports and oh it reminds me how oh so fun it is to be an adult.
June 10th, 2009 | #
good information
May 7th, 2009 | #
Very good information
April 26th, 2009 | #
good to know
April 22nd, 2009 | #
[...] vicious in life, but it unequivocally is. If you don’t know your measure you should get a free credit report and reconnoitre yourself with it. How can you urge your credit score is an essay which provides a [...]
April 9th, 2009 | #
[...] you don’t know it you should find out and find out how to strengthen it. It is probable to get a free credit report and you should get informed with [...]
April 9th, 2009 | #
Good
April 7th, 2009 | #
tight!
March 27th, 2009 | #
I did one of the ads for free credit reports. I got it free for one month and then they wanted to charge me. I don’t think they are all legit
March 26th, 2009 | #
i love to finally see what ones actually are the best. I have tried several times and right when they are going to pull it up they ask for my credit card. Thanks for the information!
March 15th, 2009 | #
There are hundreds of credit checking companies but most of them are scams. But there are some which are good and offer this service for absolutely free. We just have to do a proper research.
March 12th, 2009 | #
Great info!
March 11th, 2009 | #
Good to know!
March 9th, 2009 | #
thanks, I haven’t even thought that much of credit report
March 4th, 2009 | #
VERY HELPFUL
February 27th, 2009 | #
More than helpful
February 20th, 2009 | #
This is a helpful blog, but usually if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is. It is good to check your credit report, but sometimes when u pull it up, it lowers your score, so sometimes there are still some “strings attacted” so be careful.
February 13th, 2009 | #
This…
Have you been blogging long? About bad Credit, Mortgages and Interest Rates? | Credit Questions is a great blog, you have a great writing style too. Found this post last Tuesday and i’ve been reading your blog since. I’ve subscribed to your RSS fee…
February 10th, 2009 | #
Interesting
February 8th, 2009 | #
Very useful and helpful article. Thank you for this post.
January 12th, 2009 | #
thanks, that really helps
December 9th, 2008 | #
it would be my first time signing in for free credit report. But from what i know about credits based on having a credit card, you have to be really careful on how you use it. Trust me, my mom is proof based on my statement
December 5th, 2008 | #
I have couple credit cards and I heard applying more with degrade your credit. Is that true! this credit card options sounds great though!
November 24th, 2008 | #
Very interesting information:)
November 23rd, 2008 | #
I had this happen to me, but freecreditreport.com and it was a pain cancelling the service. Read fine print.
November 20th, 2008 | #
There are three different companies through the govt that you can get a report from. The first one is always free but to make money the companies will try to charge you for follow-up ones every couple of months so make sure to cancel those.
November 14th, 2008 | #
Great information, very helpful.
November 12th, 2008 | #
That is good info to know! Thanks for all the tips.
November 10th, 2008 | #
Wow that was really helpful I was always wondering if they were really free or not. And everything that you try to buy these days all rely on your credit i really need that monthly thing except my credit is already getting screwed. But yeah thanks for letting us know I appreciate it.
November 8th, 2008 | #
This was interesting. I now know how the scam works.
November 5th, 2008 | #
it was pretty good let me know that there are always hiding fees. It also good because i’m currently trying to make sure my credit is looking good.
November 5th, 2008 | #
take some time out and read its good info
October 31st, 2008 | #
Good information
October 30th, 2008 | #
WHEN SOMETHING IS WAIVED IN YOUR FACE SAYING THAT ITS FREE THERE IS DEFINATELY A CATCH TO IT
October 30th, 2008 | #
I have enjoyed the article, I am diligently trying to keep my credit score high.
October 30th, 2008 | #
I don’t like when free isn’t FREE.
October 30th, 2008 | #
potentially harm me? I wish there wasn’t a catch
October 29th, 2008 | #
It’s a good thing to check your credit periodically.
October 29th, 2008 | #
good to know, i never knew a credit report website could alert you of possible problems.
October 28th, 2008 | #
helpful info. everybody should check their credit report.
October 28th, 2008 | #
good information!!!
October 28th, 2008 | #
good info!
October 28th, 2008 | #
Thanks for the info
October 27th, 2008 | #
iam a novice this info help me a lot.
October 24th, 2008 | #
wassup?
October 23rd, 2008 | #
i really like the comment about the information it help me to
no more that is good ideas about you. thanks
October 21st, 2008 | #
good to know thanks
October 20th, 2008 | #
This was really helpful!
October 20th, 2008 | #
good info
October 19th, 2008 | #
i want to know more.
October 19th, 2008 | #
It’s a scam!!
October 19th, 2008 | #
I didn’t know muck about it . Good advise!
October 19th, 2008 | #
I guess it is worth it yo pay if you can see it anytime you want to. Great idea thanks
October 19th, 2008 | #
Good article, it will come in handy in the future.
October 17th, 2008 | #
i don’t no much about this but it seems am getting ideas about it. thank you good information.
October 17th, 2008 | #
Very good article
October 16th, 2008 | #
Good article!
October 16th, 2008 | #
Ashley: That’s actually not true. If you pull your own credit report using one of these services it does not deduct points from your credit score. I pull my score every month using one of these services and have a very high score. This type of pull is a “soft pull”.
You lose some points for a “hard pull” which is what happens when you apply for a credit based loan or credit card. Its best not to apply for lots of credit all at once. These lost points come back much faster than points you lose if you make a late payment.
CCG
October 16th, 2008 | #
very helpful, thanks!
October 16th, 2008 | #
if you pull your credit on your own it will make a tick on your credit, which will pull it down a tad bit.
best bet is to wait until the bureau sends you the report once a year
October 16th, 2008 | #
great information
October 15th, 2008 | #
Good information
October 15th, 2008 | #
Nothing much new.
October 15th, 2008 | #
very good
October 15th, 2008 | #
I read the report,if you file for a credit card and you
are denied, you can request a free credit report to find out why you were denied
October 15th, 2008 | #
This is a very interesting article. I’ve never really taken credit reports seriously, still being in high school.
October 15th, 2008 | #
my husband and i opened a credit report/score account with creditkeeper. it was very useful but when we no longer needed it, it was such a hassle to cancel! we have tried multiple times to cancel and although they confirmed that our acct was cancelled, they opened another one without us knowing!
these programs are very useful and informative, but be careful and read the fine print.
October 15th, 2008 | #
I never knew much of this, and now I do
October 15th, 2008 | #
good advice thanks
October 15th, 2008 | #
i like the report i will go to the website to write down email and phone numbers
October 15th, 2008 | #
We use Experian’s Credit Manager. You can order your report as often as you want. Great product and only $12 a month
October 15th, 2008 | #
Protecting your credit is crutical
October 14th, 2008 | #
I learned stuff I never knew before! thanks!
October 14th, 2008 | #
good to know
October 14th, 2008 | #
strange how people don’t know about these things
October 14th, 2008 | #
Thanks for the information!
October 14th, 2008 | #
Thanks, I work in a department where I have access to experian 24/7. So I am good to go, as long as I don’t mind the points if my score is looked at too many times.
October 14th, 2008 | #
I never thought that this was how it worked. This is very very good to know. I think it is important to know and to monitor credit scores.
October 13th, 2008 | #
I found it to be very helpful.
October 13th, 2008 | #
good info
October 13th, 2008 | #
I never thought about getting my credit report because I have never had any type of credit so I thought that there wouldn’t be anything for me to check out this is good info and I plan on looking into this asap.
October 12th, 2008 | #
Great info! I learned a few important things that will help me in the future! FREE!!!
October 11th, 2008 | #
Thank you for the information on how to obtan a free credit report.
October 11th, 2008 | #
Excellent advice.
October 11th, 2008 | #
Thank you for the report. it’ll come in handy.
October 10th, 2008 | #
This is pretty useful information.
October 10th, 2008 | #
YOU SPELLED SIGN WRONG LOL 5TH PARAGRAPH NEXT TO THE LAST LINE LOVED THE REST THOUGH
October 10th, 2008 | #
Good Info!
October 10th, 2008 | #
Thanks!
October 10th, 2008 | #
free i like free
October 10th, 2008 | #
Thanks for the free report, very useful!
October 10th, 2008 | #
I have really learned alot about everything
October 10th, 2008 | #
Things that make you go hmmmm… Interesting!
October 10th, 2008 | #
“Free, free, free!” If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that when you see an exclamation point, there’s a catch.
October 9th, 2008 | #
very helpful inf0 =]]
October 9th, 2008 | #
WOW THIS REALLY HELPED
October 9th, 2008 | #
very informational!
October 9th, 2008 | #
Thank you for the great info. That interest rate tip was scary, in the amazing bill increase on a $2 interest debt. That is a lesson learned for all of us.
October 8th, 2008 | #
SCORESCAM
October 8th, 2008 | #
Very helpful information! Thanks!!
October 7th, 2008 | #
This has been helpful and informative! No doubt that this information will come in handy for me in the near future. Thank you.
October 7th, 2008 | #
This article was very inciteful! Thank you for the post!
SCORESCAM
October 7th, 2008 | #
Great INFO! Thank you.
October 6th, 2008 | #
this should be really helpful to me
October 6th, 2008 | #
Interesting
October 6th, 2008 | #
I think that article was very interesting to read. I always wanted to check my credit score.
October 6th, 2008 | #
Very helpful information!!!
October 6th, 2008 | #
intersting to know, but I will look into my credit report later when I have time
October 6th, 2008 | #
Wow did not know this before. Wish I would of
October 6th, 2008 | #
very interesting
October 6th, 2008 | #
Handy article.
October 6th, 2008 | #
Some credit cards offer their own credit tracking service…Washington Mutual, now JP Morgan Chase, offers such a service, provided you have an open account with them.
October 6th, 2008 | #
They are free but you are not.
October 6th, 2008 | #
This was a very helpful article.
October 6th, 2008 | #
Christina – That is not true. You can check your credit report as much as you want because it is yours and you have the right to dispute anything on it at any time. You get points when someone ELSE looks at your report.
October 5th, 2008 | #
I would actually suggest using truecredit.com for credit monitoring. It only costs me $14.95 a month and I get unlimited score reports and credit report updates whenever I want. It sends me alerts in my email when there’s been any change to my report, including just inquiries (when someone looks at your credit report).
October 5th, 2008 | #
Informative!
October 5th, 2008 | #
scorescam
October 5th, 2008 | #
i think this was very elpful thank you.
October 5th, 2008 | #
Wow.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, so thanks for the push…now I just have to figure out how to straighten this mess out! Some scholarship money could really help about now…
October 5th, 2008 | #
This was interesting to read. I knew all those “free” credit reports weren’t exactly “free”. But I am happy to see the reports that have all 3 scores, especially since you are never sure what bank or company will use which credit company. That way you know where you are with all credit companies.
October 5th, 2008 | #
THANKS BUT I ALREADY RECIEVE FREE CREDIT REPORT THROUGH MY BANK.
October 5th, 2008 | #
Thanks For the Info!it is help full
October 5th, 2008 | #
whoa, Thanks but you know there are freee crsdit checks!
October 4th, 2008 | #
More than helpful
October 4th, 2008 | #
Every so called free credit report website I checked out wants at least a dollar and you to sign up for gobs of junkmail
October 4th, 2008 | #
I heard that if you check your credit score more than once a year it adds a hit to your credit score and can lower it. I used to apply for the Jcpenny credit card every time I shopped because I know I wouldn’t get it (never had a credit card therfore no credit score to get approved, is why) but I’d get $5.00 off my purchase (they don’t do that any more probably because of me
. But it lowered my score once I did finally get a credit card. So now I only apply for credit stuff once a year. Is that right?
October 4th, 2008 | #
This is good and true. experian, equifax, and transunion all have the obligation to give you a free credit report, once you have requested one, of course. Not sure if it’s one ore two reports per year.
October 4th, 2008 | #
Good information. I intend to check into the website and write down phone numbers and addresses.
October 4th, 2008 | #
I found this to be interesting and very helpful. This past year, i’ve been working on improving my credit and knowing my credit score will definitely help me along the way. Thanks.
October 3rd, 2008 | #
Some good information, especially for novices!
October 3rd, 2008 | #
I might sighn up for a card now
October 3rd, 2008 | #
Wow.. i never knew that. this will information will keep from making future mistakes. Thanks For the Info!
October 3rd, 2008 | #
this info was really help full
October 3rd, 2008 | #
very informational!!!!
October 2nd, 2008 | #
I am in the middle of fixing errors on my credit report. It is much easier to monitor your credit than fix it. As far as credit reports go you are guilty until proven innocent.
October 2nd, 2008 | #
Nothing is free…let’s protect ourselves.
October 2nd, 2008 | #
It is always nice when someone points out the flaws of “free” but even better when they tell you what and where to actually go to get what you need for free. Thank you for staying on top of things and offering such good information.
October 2nd, 2008 | #
Good article
October 2nd, 2008 | #
loved reading this, im working on getting my credit reports now and this really helped!!!!
October 1st, 2008 | #