How To Get My Free Credit Score & Avoid Scam?
This article tells you how you can obtain your credit score from valid and legitimate sources and pay nothing. Let's first see who
is a "legitimate" source for your credit information and score and then we go through that how you can access them to get your
free fico credit score.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that your credit information is confidential, and should be revealed only
to the following entities:
1. creditors to whom you have applied for credit or who have granted you credit;
2. employers who are considering you for employment, reassignment, retention, or promotion;
3. insurers to whom you have applied for a new policy or a renewal of your existing policy;
4. government agencies that are reviewing your financial status or government benefits; and
5. anybody else who has legitimate business and needs your credit information, such as a potential
landlord to whom you have applied to rent or lease property from.
Nobody else, apart from these, should be given access to your credit information, especially without
your prior knowledge and consent.
Now that you know who has access to your true and valid credit score, you should try to somehow contact them and find ways
to get your fico credit score from them. Here are some ways that people use to get their free credit score:
Credit Card Comapnies Have Access To Your Fico Credit Score Some credit card companies will grant you a
credit monitoring service to their customers, so if you apply for one and get approved, you can find out your credit score free of charge.
Mortgage Lenders Have Your Credit Score, Ask Them For It When you apply to a mortgage company for a home loan,
they would run your credit. You can ask them what your credit score is once the agent is looking at your application.
But be polite and try not to offend them.
To find out more methods to do this check out our section for
Fico Score For Free.
Is there anything I need to watch out for?
There are deceptions with free credit scores and reports that you need to be aware of. Credit scores
do not come free. The law entitles you to a free annual credit report
every twelve months, but that report
will not include your credit score. To get your credit score you would have to pay an additional fee
for it, or sign up for credit monitoring programs with credit agencies where the free credit score
is given as a bonus. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003, credit
reporting agencies are allowed to charge a “fair and reasonable” fee to provide you with your credit score.
You must be very careful when you sign up for offers that give you a free credit score or report,
either on its own or as part of free trials. Some companies may offer the free credit score as a
freebie if you sign up for their credit monitoring services. Even after you cancel your subscription,
the company could continue charging you. There are also other companies that offer the free credit
score – entirely free, so they say – but ask you to give them your credit card number, supposedly
for registration purposes, and then turn around and charge you for another product that they are offering.
This was the case with a company called Consumerinfo, who marketed a “free credit report” offer on
television, radio, the internet, and its websites.
Why do I need to know my credit score?
If there is one number that could be more important than your Social Security Number, it has to be
your credit score. Your credit score affects every financial action you take, and sometimes could even
be a major consideration when you apply for a job.
Every time you make a purchase with your credit card, make a payment, apply for a new card, or even
shop online for a loan or for credit card offers, the details about your actions or transactions go
into your credit report. The information in your credit report is then mathematically computed and
converted into a numeric value that is called the credit score.
Credit score is also called fico score,
because of the FICO scoring system. The FICO credit scoring system was developed by Bill Fair,
an engineer, and Earl Isaac, a mathematician,
who founded the Fair Isaac Corporation in 1956. They were able to convince lenders that mathematical
formulas could do a better job of predicting the probability that a credit applicant would default on
payment – even better than any experienced loan officer could. Other credit agencies have since
developed their own methodology of computing for credit scores based on Fico’s model, but the Fico
score remains the most popular and most widely used credit scoring system.
That credit score is what lenders look at when you apply for new credit. It is the number they consider
in evaluating how much of a risk you are in paying back your debts. The higher your credit score, the
less of a risk you would be to lenders, and because of that they would be more predisposed to giving you
lower interest rates, longer payment terms, and lower down payment rates when you apply for new credit.
How high or low your credit score is will affect your chances of qualifying for a loan, being approved
for a new credit card, getting an auto loan, being approved for housing, and even getting a new job or
a promotion.
An example of why you should be cautious and watchful: A violator’s scam is caught
Consumerinfo’s aggressive advertising convinced many consumers to take advantage of their offer –
a free credit report, and along with it a free trial of their credit monitoring service as a bonus.
Consumers were required to sign up to avail of the free credit report, and provide their personal details
as well as a valid credit card number. The website stated clearly that the credit card would not be
charged during the free trial period, and was only required to create the account.
What many people did not realize was that it was not free at all. Consumers who did not cancel within
30 days were charged an annual fee of $79.95.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took Consumerinfo to court on the grounds that its advertising was
deceptive and that it failed to disclose that its free credit report offer was not associated with
consumers’ right to a free credit report under federal law.
The court ruled that consumers who ordered a free credit report from the company’s websites –
freecreditreport.com or consumerinfo.com – between November 1, 2000 and September 15, 2003 would have
to be refunded their money. The court ordered Consumerinfo to refund the payments – which they obtained
fraudulently – by crediting the card that consumers used to sign up for the trial offer.
Consumers who signed up for this trial offer would have the amount credited to their credit or debit
card, and would receive a notice by email or postal mail from the company informing them of the action,
whether the company is successful or not.
Consumers who believed they are eligible for the refund but did not receive any notice from the company
were encouraged to contact Consumerinfo directly through helpconsumerinfo@consumerinfo.com.
Free versus paid credit score: is the low price worth the risk?
The recent developments pertaining to free credit scores, the risks people have to take, and the
confusion resulting from many companies offering differing scores and deceptive offers, should make
you think twice about whether to jump at a free credit score offer. If you are afraid that your credit
card information may be used to charge you without your knowledge or that the free credit score offer
could be a scam, we suggest that you go for a paid service that is legitimate and authorized by the
Federal Trade Commission: myfico.com or annualcreditreport.com. You will sleep better at night knowing
that your credit information is safe.
