Federal law requires the three main credit agencies to give Americans a free report annually.
A lot of consumers continue to confuse this requirement with getting their credit score.
There is a difference between a credit report and the associated rating.
According to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act: "A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy.
Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.
" This score, however, is a three-digit number which is a snapshot of your credit report at a given moment in time.
This number is usually computed by third-party companies and provided to credit bureaus for a fee.
There are several companies which provide scoring.
Consumers seldom, if ever, have any dealings with these third-party companies.
So how do I get my credit score? Is it free? To get your rating, you can contact one of the many Internet services which provide them.
Please note that even though there are ads saying consumers can get a free credit score, this author found only one site which actually did so and even then only the score for one of the three credit agencies was provided.
Most companies which offer free scores require you to sign up for a credit monitoring service and these are usually around twenty dollars or more per month.
This author found one at a whopping $49.
95 per month! You can also get credit scores from the three credit reporting companies.
Again, you will have to pay for the scores unless you sign up for a service offered by the credit bureau.
A lot of consumers continue to confuse this requirement with getting their credit score.
There is a difference between a credit report and the associated rating.
According to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act: "A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued or arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy.
Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.
" This score, however, is a three-digit number which is a snapshot of your credit report at a given moment in time.
This number is usually computed by third-party companies and provided to credit bureaus for a fee.
There are several companies which provide scoring.
Consumers seldom, if ever, have any dealings with these third-party companies.
So how do I get my credit score? Is it free? To get your rating, you can contact one of the many Internet services which provide them.
Please note that even though there are ads saying consumers can get a free credit score, this author found only one site which actually did so and even then only the score for one of the three credit agencies was provided.
Most companies which offer free scores require you to sign up for a credit monitoring service and these are usually around twenty dollars or more per month.
This author found one at a whopping $49.
95 per month! You can also get credit scores from the three credit reporting companies.
Again, you will have to pay for the scores unless you sign up for a service offered by the credit bureau.