Don’t pay for your credit report

Don’t pay to see your credit report. Instead, you can obtain your credit report for free once per year. You do, however, usually have to pay to see your credit score.

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you can obtain a copy of your credit report for free once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

To obtain a free copy of your credit report, visit annualcreditreport.com – a centralized service created by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

In addition, there are other instances where you may be entitled to a free copy of your credit report. You could be entitled to a free copy if:

• Your application for credit is denied
• You are a victim of identity theft or other fraud
• You are unemployed and plan to look for a job

Keep in mind, however, that a free credit report does not include a free credit score. Consumers normally have to pay for the privilege of viewing their credit score or scores. This is where the “free credit score” services and offers come into the equation.

Most of the “free credit score” services that you hear about offer consumers free access to their credit score from one or all of the credit reporting companies if the consumer signs up for a free trial of some type of credit monitoring service. The consumer must then remember to cancel their trial membership of the credit monitoring service within a specified time period to avoid being charged a monthly fee.