Castle Law Office Blog | Missouri & Illinois Bankruptcy Legal Blog

Be Wary of “Free” Credit Reports

With all of the talk about identity theft and the importance of good credit, it is hard not to be tempted by the idea of getting your credit score, especially for free. Commercials urge that in order to be safe, you must monitor your score on a regular basis. But before they hook you with their catchy jingle, you might want to pay attention to what you are really getting.

Consumers are entitled by law to a free credit report but that only means a record of your borrowing and repayment history—not the numerical scores. You can get a free credit report every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com but you have to pay extra to get your numerical score. Websites like Credit.com and CreditKarma.com are now offering a glimpse of your credit report for free by providing information on how your score is calculated, what you can do to improve it, etc.

You have the option of purchasing your numerical score but be wary of the fine print. Many companies that provide you with a numerical score will continue to charge you a monthly fee until you cancel their service—and most people don’t realize that they’ve signed up for their credit card to be charged every month. You could go three or four months before you realize that you’ve been paying for their service every month; and by then, it is too late to get your money back from most companies.