In the current financial climate, having easy access to credit reports and credit scores has become increasingly important for many people. A person’s ability to get credit, rent a home, and even open a bank account can be heavily dependent on their credit information and score, which is why consumers need to make sure that they check their credit reports and scores regularly to either make sure that they are in check or to work out how to improve them and then monitor that improvement.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act consumers are entitled to one free copy of their credit report each year from the three major credit reporting agencies, which are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This is good news for consumers as it means that they can check the data on the credit report – which is what lenders will see if they are running a check on the report – and pick up on any potential issues so that they can be rectified. You can order your free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com. However, whilst you have the right to order your credit report for free from each of the credit bureaus once a year this does not apply to credit scores.
Getting your report and credit score together
Many people do not want only their credit report but also want to be able to see what their credit score is. There are a number of ways in which you can do this, including:
- There are a number of programs where you pay a monthly fee in order to obtain access to your credit information and scores from all three major credit reference bureaus. This offers convenience and ease, enables you to check for any issues or problems on your credit information with all of the bureaus, and ensures that you get to see all three credit scores from each of the reference agencies. In addition to this these programmes offer additional benefits such as identity protection to help you to avoid becoming a victim of ID theft and monitoring alerts, where you are notified of any changes that have been made to your credit information. With these schemes you get to enjoy unlimited online access to your credit information, which is very useful for those that need to closely monitor their credit such as those that are trying to improve their credit. You pay a monthly fee for these memberships and the monthly cost will vary depending on which one you join. You will also be able to benefit from a free trial period, which can range from seven to thirty days depending on which program you join. If you cancel your membership within the free trial period you will not have to pay anything for the access that you have had, which means that you will have been able to view the information for free, although obviously for only a limited time.
- If you want to gain access to your report and credit score from only one particular credit reference bureau then you can go directly to the chosen bureau, where you will have a couple of options. If you only want access to your credit score then you can pay a one off fee, which varies between agencies, and get access to your credit score from that particular credit bureau. However, if you want to have the whole package you will find that the three agencies run programs where you can get access to your credit report and score as part of a membership package. Again, you are able to get free trial periods with these, so as long as you cancel within that trial period you will not be charged for the access that you have already had.
- If you are applying for credit, such as car finance or a loan, the person that is dealing with you will need to gain access to your credit scores. You can then ask to see what the scores are, which will enable you to find out your credit scores for free on a one off basis. However, this is only possible if you are already applying for credit.
- Check out annualcreditreport.com.