Free Credit Reports Missing a Piece of Crucial Information

A report from an NBC affiliate points out the fact that the free credit reports you can get each year from annualcreditreport.com are missing a crucial piece of information--that magic number known as your credit score. Although it can be useful to see your credit report without the score (so you can check for accuracy), it's tough to know what it all means without the credit score. Out of the goodness of their hearts, the credit bureaus do give you the option to purchase your credit score. I recommend doing it, even though it sucks to have to pay for your own credit score along with your "free" credit report. Unless you've recently applied for credit and know your score, it's worth the $5-7 to find out the score. Of course, if you already know your score, you probably won't be requesting your free credit reports, would you?

As a sidenote, if you've already gotten your free credit reports for the year, you can still buy access to your credit score from each of the credit bureaus. But it will cost you.

Credit reports need watching

Some sound advice from the Poughkeepsie Journal:

Consumer awareness in New York should increase significantly as free credit reports became available. People would be wise to take advantage of this new service to research their fiscal history.

Credit reports have become critical resources affecting people's lives. Everything from the interest rates received on loans to identity theft can be determined through these documents. Before the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, people would typically pay about $10 for a copy of their credit report. Too often, it was only after problems arose.

The idea behind the legislation is noble: encourage people to take a more active role in monitoring their finances. The program has met with success in other parts of the country, where it was introduced last year.

The East Coast, the last part of the country to be phased in, just recently became eligible. The program allows people to receive one annual report from each of the country's three leading credit companies. Experts suggest staggering requests once every four months so ongoing monitoring can occur throughout the year.

Full Article