| Yesterday, I received the following question from a | | | | apply for a car loan or a mortgage loan, and the lender |
| confused consumer through my Credit Help Q&A | | | | "checks your credit," this is who they request the |
| blog: | | | | information from. |
| "I see a lot of offers for free credit report online, and | | | | The companies mentioned above have a joint website |
| even on TV commercials. But whenever I visit the | | | | through which you can request all three of your |
| actual website and read the information there, it seems | | | | reports at once. The website is In terms of getting |
| like I have to sign up for something and pay a fee. Is | | | | your reports for free, this is the only website that the |
| there any way to get my free reports with no strings | | | | Federal Trade Commission (FTC) endorses and |
| attached? Where do I go?" | | | | recommends. |
| If you share this reader's confusion, let me start by | | | | Your Score Comes Separately |
| saying you are not alone. This is one of the most | | | | Your credit score is a different story. You will have to |
| common questions I receive from consumers, and it's | | | | request it separately, and you will probably have to |
| easy to understand why. I see those "free credit | | | | pay for it. This is where a lot of people get confused, |
| report" commercials on TV all the time. Sometimes I | | | | and I think product marketing is the problem. Many |
| can't even get that song out of my head, but that's | | | | companies will actually package all of this information |
| another subject entirely. I also encounter a ton of | | | | together and then add on some kind of credit |
| banner ads for companies who offer the same thing | | | | monitoring / identify theft prevention service. So they |
| online. | | | | use the "free" credit reports and scores as an |
| But therein lies the confusion. Some of them charge a | | | | enticement, but then you find out you have to sign up |
| fee, while others do not. Some offer credit scores and | | | | for the monitoring service in order to get the freebies. |
| other items in addition to the reports. It's completely | | | | Like I said, it can all get pretty confusing! |
| confusing, so I am happy to set the record straight. | | | | That's why I used the phrase "no strings attached" in |
| Here's what you need to know: | | | | the title of this article. To the best of my knowledge, |
| The Only Website Recommended by the FTC | | | | the only place where you can get a totally free credit |
| By law, you are entitled to one free credit report per | | | | report with no strings is through the jointly owned |
| year, from all three of the companies who maintain | | | | website mentioned above - the one recommended by |
| them. This includes TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. | | | | the FTC. Hopefully this will alleviate your confusion |
| These are privately-held companies who maintain | | | | once and for all. |
| historical financial data on U.S. consumers. When you | | | | |