A credit score is a three-digit number that tells lenders whether or not you are a good credit risk. Any time you borrow or repay money, lenders may report it to one or more credit bureaus. The bureaus compile this information to create a credit report. Your credit score is a summary of that report. It determines whether or not you can borrow money, and how much it will cost. There are three main credit bureaus, each using a slightly different formula to calculate a credit score. The safest place to get your credit score is directly from these bureaus. You can also request it from a mortgage lender whenever you apply for a mortgage or a home equity loan. There are many fraudulent websites offering to tell you your credit score. If it's not an official credit bureau site, avoid it.
Equifax
Equifax offers free copies of credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com. However, the free reports do not include a credit score. You can get the score directly from their website by going to equifax.com. It will cost you $15.95 (as of Sept. 2010). For $39.95, you can get your credit score from all three bureaus via the Equifax site. You will also get copies of all three credit reports.
Equifax
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
866-493-9788
equifax.com
Experian
Experian also offers the three-bureau credit score check, the same as Equifax. You can buy just the Experian credit report and the score on their website. Alternatively, you can get the credit score by joining their Triple Advantage credit monitoring service. The service costs $14.95 a month, but you can cancel anytime during the seven-day trial period. You probably won't need the service, unless you need to know your current credit score on a regular basis.
Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
experian.com
TransUnion
TransUnion offers copies of all three credit scores free of charge to people who join their credit monitoring service. You can cancel within the first seven days. Alternatively, you can buy a TransUnion credit report and credit score from their website.
TransUnion
PO Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
800-888-4213
transunion.com
Mortgage Lenders
If you are in the process of applying for a mortgage or a home equity loan, you can request your credit score from the mortgage lender. This is a safe method of getting your score because the lender will be requesting the credit score, anyway. You won't have a choice about which bureau the score is coming from. Lenders can use any one or more of the bureaus. The score they give you will probably be the one they use to evaluate your application.
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