Free Instant Credit Reports
Ever since consumers started to be aware of their credit score and how it affects everything from your ability to get a loan for a house, to rent an apartment, to buy a car and even to get insurance for that car, the number of sites that are claiming to offer free instant credit reports has been on the rise.
But now here's the issue - many of these sites that say they offer free credit reports really only do that as a front to get you hooked on a list that will allow them to spam you for years with all sorts of offers that you didn't really agree to accept.
So when you're looking for truly free credit reports, and you don't want to wait weeks for them to arrive in the mail, you need to find a site that is legitimate, trustworthy, and can deliver on its promise to instantly show you your report and the score that lenders are using to evaluate your credit worthiness.
Here are some things to look out for...
Is the company behind the free credit report site trustworthy? Admittedly this can be a little bit difficult to evaluate on your own.
Still, you should recognize a fly-by-night operation from one that has been established for a long time and that has a long list of satisfied clients.
Look for names you know, and look to see how long they've been in business as well as how many customers they've served.
The best sites will be able to point to thousands of happy customers and several years in business.
This can be a good indication of a site that delivers on its promise.
What are the hidden fees? Most sites that offer free credit reports will do so as part of a bundle or package that includes some kind of credit monitoring service.
This is fine, and can actually be quite helpful.
But what you need to make sure is that if you don't want this monitoring service that you'll be able to cancel it before you're ever charged.
Again, the simple fact that the site offering a free instant credit report also puts you in to a trial for a credit monitoring service shouldn't automatically disqualify it.
As long as you're offered a grace period during which you can cancel and not pay, this should be fine.
Is the information accurate? Now I'm not talking here about whether or not the information on your credit report is accurate.
What I mean is, is the credit report coming from a reputable agency? It does you no good to go with a service that offers an "estimate" of your credit score when it's not coming from an actual credit reporting agency.
What you need is the information that actual lenders are going to be using when evaluating whether or not they can extend credit.
For this, you should be going with a brand name service - one that will offer you a true picture of how lenders see you and your ability to borrow money.
But now here's the issue - many of these sites that say they offer free credit reports really only do that as a front to get you hooked on a list that will allow them to spam you for years with all sorts of offers that you didn't really agree to accept.
So when you're looking for truly free credit reports, and you don't want to wait weeks for them to arrive in the mail, you need to find a site that is legitimate, trustworthy, and can deliver on its promise to instantly show you your report and the score that lenders are using to evaluate your credit worthiness.
Here are some things to look out for...
Is the company behind the free credit report site trustworthy? Admittedly this can be a little bit difficult to evaluate on your own.
Still, you should recognize a fly-by-night operation from one that has been established for a long time and that has a long list of satisfied clients.
Look for names you know, and look to see how long they've been in business as well as how many customers they've served.
The best sites will be able to point to thousands of happy customers and several years in business.
This can be a good indication of a site that delivers on its promise.
What are the hidden fees? Most sites that offer free credit reports will do so as part of a bundle or package that includes some kind of credit monitoring service.
This is fine, and can actually be quite helpful.
But what you need to make sure is that if you don't want this monitoring service that you'll be able to cancel it before you're ever charged.
Again, the simple fact that the site offering a free instant credit report also puts you in to a trial for a credit monitoring service shouldn't automatically disqualify it.
As long as you're offered a grace period during which you can cancel and not pay, this should be fine.
Is the information accurate? Now I'm not talking here about whether or not the information on your credit report is accurate.
What I mean is, is the credit report coming from a reputable agency? It does you no good to go with a service that offers an "estimate" of your credit score when it's not coming from an actual credit reporting agency.
What you need is the information that actual lenders are going to be using when evaluating whether or not they can extend credit.
For this, you should be going with a brand name service - one that will offer you a true picture of how lenders see you and your ability to borrow money.
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