How to Get My Credit Scores From All Three Companies at No Cost

Congress enacted a law so that individuals may access their credit reports from all three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, annually at no charge. This ability to monitor your credit affords individuals the opportunity to not only take charge of their financial life, but also to monitor their reports for potential identity theft or fraudulent activity. Consumers often confuse this law with the right to receive free credit scores annually. Currently, there is no law that provides credit scores from all three credit reporting agencies for free; however, you may receive your credit score for free, usually as an incentive to do business with a certain company.

Instructions

Obtaining your Credit Score from Experian

1

Go to Experian.com. As of October 2010, you can obtain your Experian credit report and score for $1. Click "Get Your Credit Report and Score."

2

Fill out personal information to verify your identity, so that Experian can retrieve your credit report and score. Then click "Submit and Continue."

3

Create a user name and password and enter your social security number, date of birth and mother's maiden name to serve as verification information.

4

Enter payment information. This discounted report and credit score includes a seven-day trial membership in the Triple Advantage program, which monitors your credit reports and scores. As of October 2010, this service costs $14.95 monthly and is charged each month after the trial period.

5

Cancel at the end of the free seven day trial period if you simply wanted to receive the one report and credit score.

Obtaining your Credit Score from Equifax

6

Go to Equifax.com.

7

Click on "Get Your Scores & Reports."

8

Pay $12.95 a month if you want to purchase Equifax's Score Watch, which continuously monitors changes in your FICO score and notifies you when a change occurs. As of October 2010, there were no free credit score promotions.

Obtaining your Credit Scores from TransUnion

9

Go to TransUnion.com. Click on the "Click here" button under "Get your FREE Credit Score."

10

Enter your personal information to verify your identity so TransUnion can obtain your credit report and score.

11

Review information about the free trial for True Credit. Click "I Accept" once you have read the terms and conditions of the free trial. As of October 2010, the free trial is a seven day free trial period that allows you to get your credit report and credit score for free. At the end of the seven day trial, you will be charged $14.95 a month for the credit monitoring service.

12

Cancel at the end of the free seven day trial period if you simply wanted to receive the free credit report and score.