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sallyjones | January 25, 2009 10:17 PM | in Credit Score

Where can I find out my credit score for free?

I've heard that a lot of free credit report sites are just big scams. Where can I go to get a legitimate, free credit report?

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BEST ANSWER chosen by asker | clarusvisum | January 25, 2009 10:46 PM

You're absolutely right. Most sites offering free credit reports simply pull them from sources you can actually get them from directly (for free), and then charge you to 'monitor' them. Freecreditreport.com is the most well-known site in this category.

The three major credit bureaus are:

Experian
Equifax
TransUnion

These companies are where all the scam sites get their info from. You can get your credit report from any of those sites once a year for free, so it's recommended that to have maximum 'watch' over your credit score, to rotate them, getting your score from each of them four months apart (1/3 of a year). I'll link to all three in my source section.

www.annualcreditreport.com is a (the only?) non-scam site that will give you all three credit reports at the same time, if you want to know what all three bureaus 'think of you' right this moment.

source(s):
In the order of mention in the answer:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/196/RipOff0196304.htm
http://www.experian.com/
http://www.equifax.com/home/
http://www.transunion.com/
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

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jasonford1 | January 26, 2009 07:01 AM

AnnualCreditReport.com is a site that was born out of a government law mandating that consumers be given free access to their credit histories. The law stipulated that consumers be given a free report once a year. This is the only site with no strings attached.

Other "free credit report" sites will have strings attached (like a free report after you sign up for a year of credit monitoring).

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bernices | January 30, 2009 12:36 AM

While the "big three" does participate in the free annual credit report program, none of them will give you your credit score for free. It's an addition 5-7 bucks to get it, and a worthwhile purchase. I have never found a site that will give your score to you for free, there's always a catch.

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jefflauras78 | January 25, 2009 10:20 PM

Try http://www.freecreditreport.com/

source(s):
http://www.freecreditreport.com/

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clarusvisum | January 25, 2009 10:50 PM - Fact Refuted

This is EXACTLY the kind of site the asker should be AVOIDING.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/196/RipOff0196304.htm

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bluecash99 | January 25, 2009 10:30 PM

The US government operates a credit report website. The website was founded because of the 2003 Fair Credit Reporting Act. You will receive 3 free credit reports (1 per agency) per year. The website for the free credit reports is : https://www.annualcreditreport.com

source(s):
www.annualcreditreport.com

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triciachaves | January 26, 2009 04:43 PM

www.annualcreditreport.com is the only site that gives a free report with no credit card number or "free trial" commitment; it does not, however, give you your FICO score.

Tricia Chaves
http://triciachaves.blogspot.com

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