How to Choose the Best Credit Monitoring Service

Knowing and understanding your credit report and scores is important since almost all financial decisions hinge on what yours says about you. It's important to know what your score and report says about you and to know when changes are made so that you can dispute them immediately if they are inaccurate. With identity theft on the rise, it's also important to keep an eye on your information so that you can stop a problem before it gets out of control. A credit monitoring service will allow you to do exactly that.

Instructions

1

Check with your credit card company. If you have credit cards, many times you can become a member of a credit monitoring service for just a few dollars a month through your card company. Talk to the companies that issue your cards to see what programs they offer. You can also research their offers online.

2

Check for daily monitoring of your file. When you choose a credit monitoring service, you want to make sure that it keeps track of your credit file on a daily basis and updates you via email of any changes to your report. This will allow you to deal with any issues immediately.

3

Make sure you get free credit scores. If possible, choose a company that will give you updated credit scores at least once each quarter. Some companies will even give you updates monthly, choose a frequency that's right for you -- you may not need to know your scores each month, but you do want to see how they change over time, so a minimum of four times a year is good. Be sure the report includes the scores from all three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

4

Check to see whether or not you have the ability to dispute your credit report through the service that you use. If you don't have the ability to dispute through the company that you are using, check for tools that will assist you with your disputes.

5

Look for a credit monitoring service with simulators. Many companies will give you the ability to see how different things will affect your credit score. This is important for you to know as it will allow you to see how lowering your debt or missing a payment will affect your overall score. This is an important tool to have.

6

Pay attention to price. Since many of the credit monitoring services offer the same suite of services, you'll want to pay attention to price. Compare a couple of different services and look for the one that offers the best monthly fee. A few dollars difference each month can add up to a large savings over time.

7

Check website security measures. Since you'll be giving this company access to your personal information, you'll want to check their security measures carefully. Read the site's privacy policy. Check to see what security measures they have in place to keep your information safe.