Free Credit Score Check

Under United States law, every citizen is allowed one free credit score check per calendar year. The problem today is that if you want to check credit score free, you’ll run into a bunch of options that aren’t actually free. A few companies have taken advantage of the news of that government offer, and most people don’t even realize how to get their free score anymore. Instead, they try to get a free credit score from these sites, which require credit cards and attempt to sell a host of credit monitoring services. If you want your true free credit score check, then you need to know where to go.

The “official” site
Don’t be fooled by sites like Freecreditreport.com, even though they have spent millions of dollars on marketing over the last decade. Though those sites will certainly provide a free credit score check, it will only come after you have given them a credit card and signed up for a “trial” offer. Under that scenario, if you forget to cancel your trial offer, you will end up paying the monthly or yearly fee, depending upon which package you have signed up for. No one needs this kind of stress, and it would certainly be unfortunate to wake up one day and find that you forgot to cancel some credit protection package.

The better option is to go to the official website to get your free credit score check. The three major credit reporting agencies are required by law to provide your credit report once per year, so they set up a site to make that happen. That website is www.annualcreditreport.com/, and it is designed to be relatively easy. With just your social security number and some basic personal information, you can access your report from the major credit reporting bureaus. This is important, as it will show you what potential creditors are seeing when you put in an application.

A report without the score
Understand that when you get a free credit score from this site, you will not receive your actual number. You will get the credit report, all of your history, and different details, but they are not required by law to provide your actual score. If you want to get the score, you will need to pay extra. Whether or not you pay extra is up to you, as many people just don’t see the need. It is important to understand where your score falls, as this will give you a clear picture of what financing options are available to you. Under this scenario, you can get your free credit score by signing up for the trial that they offer. Make sure that you cancel it, though, or you will end up paying in the end. If you’re happy with just the credit history, then no free trial is necessary.

Don’t be fooled into using some site other than the government’s go-to free site. If you stick with www.annualcreditreport.com/, you won’t be pushed into any offers that you just don’t need.