Are There Any Real Free Credit Reports?

Consumers interested in obtaining free copies of credit reports may feel confused by the wide array of options for accessing this sensitive financial information. Learning the basics about your rights in accessing credit reports, including whether there are any real free credit reports, can help you avoid scams or disclosing private security information to fraudulent sources. Consumers do have the right to free credit reports in some circumstances.

Purpose

Your credit report contains a wealth of information concerning your credit history, including amount owed and types of credit accounts including installment loans such as home mortgages, student loans or auto loans and revolving credit accounts, like credit cards. Credit reports list any late, missed or delinquent payments and state when credit accounts have been referred to collection agencies. Obtaining a copy of your credit report helps make sure that it doesn't contain inaccurate information about missed payments; it can also alert you to accounts that have been fraudulently established by identity thieves. Since your current and previous addresses are listed, you'll be able to view whether criminals have established a fraudulent address under your name to misdirect statements.

Annual Report

Federal law permits consumers to access their credit report for free every 12 months from each of the national credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Consumers can request free credit reports by calling the credit bureaus, mailing a written request or completing an online form. Some consumers prefer to order all three credit reports at the same time to compare information listed, since the bureaus may rely on different information sources to compile credit histories. Others may stagger requests in order to review credit reports every four months, allowing for year-round oversight to catch errors or potential identity theft early on.

Additional Situations

Consumers are also eligible to receive credit reports under special circumstances, according to the Federal Trade Commission. For example, victims of identity theft or fraud are entitled to free copies of their credit report to correct inaccurate information. Welfare recipients and job seekers can also access free credit reports. Additionally, credit applicants who have been denied a loan, credit card or other credit tool because of negative credit report information are permitted to access a free copy of the damaging report in order to correct inaccurate information, if necessary.

Concerns

The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers of proxy websites, or fraudulent websites masquerading as authentic web pages for credit bureaus or other enterprises related to credit reports. Rather than arrive at credit report request websites through Internet search engines, visit the Annual Credit Report website first to minimize chances of being misdirected to a potentially dangerous proxy website (see Resources). Also beware that some companies may advertise that they can obtain your free credit report (or credit score) when you sign up for a trial membership for their credit monitoring service or related service. They may promise that you can cancel trial memberships to avoid steep fees; even when this is true, it's cheaper and more time-efficient to go through one of the credit bureaus.