Where Can I Get My Free Credit Report?
By Kevin Gipson, New Orleans Consumer Attorney on Mar 19, 2008 in Consumer Protection, Credit Reporting
In 2003 Congress enacted the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act which requires the big three credit reporting bureaus to supply every consumer with one free credit report a year. However, while the reporting bureaus do in fact make the free credit reports available, they have also used this law as an opportunity to market services such as “credit monitoring”.
Credit monitoring services generally offer unlimited access by a consumer to his credit report and credit score as part of a monthly service that alerts the consumer each time a lender checks his credit history. A monthly charge is paid for the service.
Whether credit monitoring is a good or bad thing is a topic for another day. The reality is that many consumers are looking for their free report and end up being tricked into paying for services they didn’t want.
The only site that truly provides you with the free credit report required by the 2003 act is AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the site maintained jointly by Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.
Many sites are out there that imply that they give you access to your free report. Do not be fooled into spending money you don’t have to for your credit report.
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