Posted on 11/04/2011 10:29:50 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB
are they really free? do they want a credit card # ? are they understandable and offer a real score?
The others are not free.
annualcreditreport.com does not give a credit score unless you pay one of the 3 credit companies for it.
Are you on pretty good terms with your insurance agent? They can tell you your score for free.
It is “free” for a month then they hit you with recurring charges (somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 per month). There is no way to cancel online so you have to call, wait about 30 minutes to speak with someone, then argue with them as they try to talk you out of cancelling. Keep in mind they are only open during work hours so if you have a demanding job and can’t find an hour to deal with the crapola during the day, you are stuck with the recurring charge. Just depends if going through that is worth it to you. The only reson I did it was to make sure I had anything negative on my security clearance application.
yes and no. They give you one reporting agency free but they want you to sign up for credit monitoring and then make it difficult to cancel when the free trial is over.
“annualcreditreport.com is the legit one.
The others are not free.
annualcreditreport.com does not give a credit score unless you pay one of the 3 credit companies for it.”
Ditto, I just helped a friend do his the other day. You don’t get a score unless you pay for it. And annualcreditreport is the right one. You only get one per year, so the suggestion is to do all three at once, (to make sure there is nothing inaccurate on any of them, and then the next year, to do one every 4 months. You can do as you see fit, but that’s just a common suggestion. Some Credit Cards will give you your score when you log in (if you have an account), I know Washington Mutual did, but that my Chase (who bought them) does not. Your’s might if you want the score for free. Good luck!
Consumer advocate Clark Howard (clarkhoward.com) has a good roundup on this. Check under ‘Clark’s Greatest Hits’.
Don’t do it
I got my credit score when I visited a car dealership. You’ll probably need to tell them your SSN.
By law, you are entitled to one free credit report each year but that is *not* the same as the credit score. The credit report will tell you what is on your credit record going back a long time. The credit score is not on there. The credit score (used to help determine loan rates) is something supplied to people looking to set you up with financing on a major purchase (home, car, etc.).
Both pieces of information are useful but they are also fluid, meaning they are subject to change whenever new data comes in.
Is it true that checking your credit score too often can harm your credit score?
No. Getting a copy of your credit report or your credit score does not go on your credit record.
You’re allowed to get a copy of your credit report free of charge from each of the credit reporting agencies once a year. I’ve done it a couple of times. Equifax is one, I don’t remember the names of the others, but its easy to find out. It takes some time; you have to jump through hoops to verify your identity, etc.
As far as your score being hurt by checking, I don’t know, but it seems a bit counterintuitive. Maybe if you checked it dozens of times over a few weeks.
I’ve done that. no credit score is can see on there, just shows where you’ve paid and if there’s any 30/60/90/120 days late...
This is not true. Your access to your credit report or credit score does not affect your score.
There are different types of credit report inquires. The only one that "counts" is one that is made for the purpose of granting you new credit.
Existing creditors usually do periodic reviews. Those are different types of inquiries, which don't affect your credit score -- unless they screw up and designate the wrong type of inquiry.
Credit inquiries made for the purposes of a job application may affect your score, depending on how it is coded. Credit inquires made by the US goverment "Office of Personnel Management", or OPM, do count against your credit score -- even though they shouldn't.
I'll leave the reason for an OPM inquiry as an exercise for the reader. I'm sure that some of you know why.
sounds like the fresh hell I once walked into after buying flowers via 1800flowers.
He is right about the credit score. It's not really relevant to you personally, unless you are trying to determine if you should refinance now.
However, it is worthwhile to check your three credit reports, using the URL that has been cited above. Review those reports and determine if there are any inaccuracies. You should deal with them before you start any refinancing.
If your current mortgage was resold after you originally got it, there's a good chance that your credit report will have entries for both of them. And, the first one won't necessarily reflect that the account was paid in full. Unless someone looks at it closely, it will appear that you are making two (or more) identical payments.
This has happened to me... twice.
Yeah, I read all the way through your question after I posted my earlier reponse. Sorry to have wasted your time telling you what you already know.
I noticed that too, that they don't give you your "score" on the free report.
Personally, I don't care. The score is, I'm sure, reflective of your overall record. Do you know for sure of some cut-off line you need to be above for whatever reason?
I just assume that the score is a single number that tries to distill your overall record. I also assume (perhaps wrongly) that most lenders will take a quick look at your score and then look into the reasons behind it before making a decision. If you have adverse material in your record, for sure they'll see it. Bankruptcy is very bad, of course. Slow pays are not so bad, I think, as long as they're rare and not recent.
They also look for evidence that you're able to accumulate assets.
Obvious, I know.
There are others on this forum that know a lot more than I about almost anything you can name. Perhaps one of them will show up.
But be careful. Using a vendor results in a negative ping as each time is recorded by the reporting agencies. They assume each look at your credit reports is actually seeking credit and the more looks the lower they will drop your scores.
Looking at your own credit is not a negative ping. If a high score is your goal it is best to use the once annual freebie. If you want to see your reports more often it is best to actually pay the agencies so it is recorded as you looking and not a credit provider.
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