You know you need to check your credit report regularly so you hit the Internet in search of a site.
You can pay for the report or get it for free. There are a number of places to get your report, but finding the way to get it at zero cost is more difficult.
Though a Google search for “free credit report” returns over 630 million results, most of the sites are just trying to get you into a costly monthly subscription program.
To get your free credit report, just follow the steps in this article. It takes less than 30 minutes to get your reports, and will save you plenty of money and headache.
Getting A Free Credit Report
If you’re in line for a free credit report, you can go to each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and get your credit report at no charge.
That’s like driving 35 on the freeway. It will get you there, but not quickly or easily.
To order your free annual credit report just take one of these three simple steps:
- Log on to www.annualcreditreport.com
- Call 1-877-322-8228, or
- Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
In order to get your free annual credit report you will need to provide:
- your name
- your address
- Social Security number
- date of birth
- all previous addresses within the past two years
The website I listed is the only official one maintained by the three major credit reporting agencies under the federal credit reporting laws. Any other site claiming to offer you a free credit report should be viewed skeptically.
Paid Credit Reports
If you can’t get your credit report at no cost, you’re going to need to pony up and pay some money. A consumer reporting company is allowed to charge you up to $10.50 for a copy of your report. This doesn’t count any additional charges such as credit scores, which can cost more.
To pay for a copy of your credit report, you can go to any of the following places:
- Experian: www.experian.com
- TransUnion: www.transunion.com
- Equifax: www.equifax.com
Which Credit Report Better, Free Or Paid?
There is no difference between a credit report from one of the above paid sites as opposed to one received from the free repository.
The free credit report site is maintained by the same companies that will sell you a report.
If you can get the free one, do it. And if you can’t, then you’ll need to pay.