Free Credit SCORES: Myth or real?

[taichijedi]

I have been trying to get myself positioned for some REI in the coming months. Obviously, there will be lending procedures that will be dealt with, and like so much in tos=day's world these decisions will based heavily on my FICO scores. Despite my best efforts, and clicking enough links that advertised "Free Credit Scores" to make my hand numb, I have been unable to find a way to get my FICO scores without paying for them.
I even got my free annual credit report, but that didn't have it either. I had to pay a fee to the respective bureau to access MY CREDIT SCORE!!!! So am I missing something, or is it really the case that you need to pay to see this number? Can it even be legal to keep that kind of information "secret" given how much of one's life is dependent on it?

With all of the pros in here, I'm sure if there's a way to find this, someone here knows it. If I have to pay for it in the end I will, its a nominal cost (What like $50 all told) for information to help me determine strategies for $100,000 investments. Any help here would be awesome!!

Hey who knows, if there isn't a way to get it for free I may have just stumbled on another business idea!!

 

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[Bilgefisher]

Yes, you are entitled to one free credit report per year. My suggestion would be to go directly to the sources. Transunion, equifax and experian's web pages. Not all are easy to navigate. Also if you find any errors or discrepancies you are again entitled to a free report. The easiest two to deal with are equifax and transunion. Dealing with experian is frustrating to say the least.

If you do purchase your reports though, the costs is around $30. ( I recommend purchasing experians report through them, it is much easier to file a claim if you do)

 

[Allthingznew]

It's been my experience they'll give you your credit report free annually, but they then ask you if you want your credit score too for $5-$10. (Each agency has their own price so you spend about $20+ for the scores)

If someone knows where to get the score free that would be good info.

 

[Jito]

I checked mine through Amex. 11.99 a month for credit monitoring. Not sure if I want to keep it or not....

 

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[rcardin]

From what I have read in the past few years www.myfico.com is the closest to what a mortgage broker would pull. I use www.truecredit.com. I think it cost me about 15 a month to monitor and pull my credit reports but I am usually off by about 15 points above on my credit score they provide vs myfico.com.

 

[Z5 FILMS]

Btw, if you want to get your free credit report(s), go here:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

, and unlike the sites advertised on TV (like freecreditreport.com), this one won't charge you.

True, you get a free credit REPORT there. But not a free credit SCORE. I had to pay $7.00 to seem my FICO score.

 

[rsant]

i am amazed that alot of you aren't account holders of credit monitoring services. For most services it's under 15 bucks a month (unlimited) for piece of mind.

I get antsy every time i get a notification that my updated score is available for my personal or company report.

Are alot of you registered with dnb?

 

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[traderjphx]

I may be off the subject here, but has anyone tried out LIFELOCK (LifeLock Official Site | Identity Theft Protection It is more of a identity theft monitoring service, but are you not doing the same by monitoring your credit report? I read recently that they are being sued by Experian, because Experian basically makes money by selling your information to companies offering credit. With LIFELOCK, they are restricted in doing this.

 

[Z5 FILMS]

I may be off the subject here, but has anyone tried out LIFELOCK (LifeLock Official Site | Identity Theft ProtectionIt is more of a identity theft monitoring service, but are you not doing the same by monitoring your credit report? I read recently that they are being sued by Experian, because Experian basically makes money by selling your information to companies offering credit. With LIFELOCK, they are restricted in doing this.

According to this artcile, no. Also the LifeLock CEO, Todd David got his ID stolen. They got a $500 loan at a check cashing place under his identity. David only found out about it because the check cashing place called him to inquire about the unpaid loan (can you say PWNED!).

So it's obviously not 100%.

http://www.news4jax.com/seenon4/15358950/detail.html

 

[Corrado79]

I prefer to use www.myfico.com. You get all 3 reports and all 3 scores, in an easy to read format (for about $42-$47).

I'm not sure if the monthly services are necessary as credit reporting itself isn't that timely. Sometimes it takes 60-90 days for things to appear.

 

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[andviv]

some credit cards have agreements/services where you can get as many as you want for a low fee. I used it before, but decided to cancel the service as I was not using it that much.

 

[jimculler]

First of all, you will have to pay for FICO scores. Secondly, if you are going to be pulling FICO scores on your own, you should go to www.myfico.com

It is the ONLY website to date that has scores that will match the tri-merge a mortgage broker or loan officer will pull. If you use anything else, we call it a FAKO, since you will think your scores are higher or lower than they really are.

Also, if you go to myfico.com you can dispute any erroneous info. But the sweetest feature is that you can actually see what your scores would be if you paid certain debts off, etc....

Bottom line, if you are going to pay for scores, thats the place to go.

 

[Bilgefisher]

I just got nabbed by the free credit report this month. Got a fee for 12 dollar service from mini credit report aka creditreport.com. To my knowledge I did not sign up for their service and from what I am reading http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/mini-credit-report-services-c13873.html it is very difficult to cancel service. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

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[PEERless]

HOT TIP: Spread out your inquiries throughout the year. With three different bureaus, just take your free annual report from one of them every four months.

Yes, you are entitled to one free credit report per year.

Report, yes. Score, no. The calculation of your FICO score is a service which no one is required to give for free.

11.99 a month for credit monitoring. Not sure if I want to keep it or not.

I can think of better ways to spend $144/yr.