What You Need to Know about Getting a Totally Free Credit Report

You can find people offering you a totally free credit report on television, in the print media, and online.  The offers sound terrific - reports from all three agencies absolutely free.  Yet, most of these advertisers are in it to make a profit, and that they do. 

People have become very aware that the federal government has put a law in place requiring a totally free credit report to be sent to them each year.  In fact, one is allowed three reports, one from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. 

The only trouble is that in order to get this totally free credit report, one must find out where to get it.  The government does not have any effective campaign to get out the word about places to order credit reports. 

There are companies that take advantage of this.  They will come on with an aggressive sales pitch about what is a good credit score and why you need one.  Then they will point out that they are making a totally free credit report available to you. 

It all seems so easy.  Call a number or fill out a form on a website, and your totally free credit report will be speeding on its way to you in no time.  At least, that is the way it is portrayed. 

The truth is that these companies usually have a hidden agenda.  When you fill out their form or give the telephone operator your information, you may be signing up for something more. 

The deal may be that you get your totally free credit report only if you agree to a trial membership in their service.  This service could be a protection plan which monitors your credit report and alerts you of possible identity theft.  Some companies add services like shoppers’ services. 

The cost for all this can be $20 a month or higher.  That is $240 a year.  There is no need to pay such an outlandish price for these services if all you want is a totally free credit report.  It is better to go to a source that gives reports that actually are totally free. 

If you go online to Annual Credit Report, you can find instructions for getting a truly totally free credit report.  You will need to supply your basic personal information and possibly answer a security test question.  This helps to assure that someone else is not accessing your credit report unscrupulously. 

Since you can get a totally free credit report from each credit reporting agency each year, it is wise to space these out.  For example, you could get a report from Equifax in May, one from Experian in September, and one from TransUnion in January.  This way you can keep track of identity theft and false charges without the help of an expensive service. 

A totally free credit report should be just that.  It should not have any hidden charges or obligate you to any further payments.  If you fall behind on these payments, it will be a blemish on your credit report.  Ironically, one way to preserve your credit rating is to stay away from services who demand fees for using their totally free credit report.