Get Your Credit Report For Free - Once Per Year

[Smit-Dog]

Due to recent legislation, consumers are allowed to get a free credit report once per year from each the 3 main reporting agencies.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9007390

www.annualcreditreport.com

Mine was fairly outdated in a number of areas... pays to review it and get it corrected so it doesn't count against you.

Also, a number of insurance companies are now using your credit score (FICO) to determine, in part, the premium you pay.

 

[bsmith]

The one I got did not show a score, nor did it show your payment history with 30, 60, or 90 days lates.
Not that I had any, but it would be nice to have the same thing a lending agency has.

 

[Smit-Dog]

These should be the same reports a lending agency would get... maybe not the same exact format, but would contain the same content.

I did pay the extra amount ($3.95?) to get the FICO score. My report also included a 30/60/90 late payment section. I think that this was the Trans Union report. I'll re-confirm this weekend sometime.

 

[dirt bike dave]

I had an identity scare last year and ordered the free reports. I also paid a service approximately $30 to obtain reports from the 3 major credit bureaus. The free reports were much less complete and slightly less current than the reports I paid for (no errors on either, though). Also, if you pay for the reports you will get them by emailed the same day. I can't remember how long it took to get the free ones.

I like the idea of the free reports as an annual check up, but if you have an urgent need for the most accurate, complete, up to date info, you will have to pay for it.

 

[BadgerMan]

Requires you to key in your SSN and credit card numbers to get the free report. I think I'll pass.............

 

[JWW]

When I ran mine a few months ago it only asked for the cc number to pay for the score.

 

[PineCone]

:bang:

 

[Smit-Dog]

Unless you're paying extra for the FICO score, asking for the CC# is just one of the steps to validate that you are who you say you are before releasing the report. There are a number of different ways they give you to do that, with the CC# just one of them.

I would suspect too that there's typically more of a security risk in giving your credit card to the pimpley-faced cashier at BigMart (!) than in submitting it via a SSL connection to a company like Equifax. My wife had her CC stolen this way a few years ago.... The brainiac employee then went to Best Buy with the CC to buy a stereo system... all caught on video tape.