Want FREE Credit Reports From The Big Three?

[Bwana]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

This isn't one of those things where you actually get a free report and then later are charged $15/mo out of nowhere is it?

Nope, 100% FREE..............no strings.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Bwana

Nope, 100% FREE..............no strings.

yep, annualcreditreport.com was set up by the government to enforce their required annual free credit reports.

Some other company decided to try to take advantage of the situation and created confusion by setting up freecreditreport.com. A lot of people thought "oh yeah, I heard that the government gets us a free credit report every year, so this is probably where I go to get it!", so they just blindly provide whatever information is asked for, clicking yes to everything without looking around closely. They find out a month later that they signed up for some credit monitoring service, and by the time they cancel, the company got some free money out of them. (Unless of course you want that credit monitoring service)

[FloridaMan88]

I pay for Lifelock and Free Credit Report.com (which really isn't free) for piece of mind

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsfan88

I pay for Lifelock and Free Credit Report.com (which really isn't free) for piece of mind

Free credit report is free if you cancel within the first 30 days. I pull mine once a year using www.freecreditreport.com It shows your credit report and your score. After I check it over I immediately cancel it. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. Totally Free.

[Sure-Oz]

i heard life lock effed up on personal security, there was some article on it i saw doing a google search

[smittysbar]

Thanks guys. This is a very important thing to do.

6 years ago it took me about a year to clear up some crap that got thrown on my credit. Two people (with very bad credit) some how ended up on my report. It was a ****ing nightmare, and it happened to be when I was trying to buy the bar. Luckily the banks I deal with know me good and knew it wasn't me, and went through with the loan.

Just imagine if I would have never found out.

[BWillie]

It says I have nine credit card accounts. Only one of which that I use. How do I cancel these things? Or would it be against my best interests to leave them open and not use them?

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

It says I have nine credit card accounts. Only one of which that I use. How do I cancel these things? Or would it be against my best interests to leave them open and not use them?

It depends. Having too high of a credit line can be a liability. How long have the accounts been open? The older accounts are helping your score by showing longevity. My advice would be take a look at the nine. Close all but the 3 or 4 longest held accounts, assuming they are years old and have decent limits.

[Hydrae]

I have heard that a better way to track your credit history is to do this about every 4 months. What you do is just pull one of the three so you are pulling their individual report annually but you can keep closer track of any potential issues throughout the year.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

I have heard that a better way to track your credit history is to do this about every 4 months. What you do is just pull one of the three so you are pulling their individual report annually but you can keep closer track of any potential issues throughout the year.

I pay them $15 a month to track my reported financial info. But, my job depends on having good credit so I want to know immeditely if something shows up that shouldn't be there.

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Originally Posted by Methamphetamine

The people who run the credit system are all kikes.

Well, at least you're getting more creative with your names Marlboro...

[Bob Dole]

It's that time of year again.

[Mark M]

I thought that perhaps this was a new thread warning people that the "Freecreditreport.com" site is, in fact, ran by one of the bureaus (I want to say TransUnion, but it may be Experian) and is a total ripoff.

As someone who writes articles on personal finance for a living, I've read numerous horror stories about all the sites claiming to give free reports. All but annualcreditreport.com will sign you up for a monthly service costing from $9 - $20 a month, often without really letting you know they're doing so.

So yeah ... everyone get their ass over to annualcreditreport.com and get your copies today. Just be forewarned that getting one from TransUnion is nearly impossible.

MM
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[beach tribe]

Is it true that bad credit marks disappear in 7 yrs??

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Is it true that bad credit marks disappear in 7 yrs??

It depends on what you mean by "bad credit marks" and "disappear."

Bankruptcies are listed on your report for 7 - 13 years, depending on which chapter you file. After that, the notice is removed.

A missed payment won't actually "disappear" -- it will be listed as a red square amongst a bunch of green ones (or hopefully a bunch of green ones) in your payment history to the creditor in question.

But overall, yes, the records on your report usually only go back about 7 years or so. Your credit score, however, is cumulative and will reflect your entire credit history.

Hope that helps.

MM
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