Your Totally Free Credit Report Online

I've been seeing, hearing and reading a lot of advertisement for free credit report services lately. They all use the "free" word, but then some of them also offer paid services above and beyond the credit report request.

So what's the deal with totally free credit reports ... is there such a thing?

The answer is a resounding yes! There are actually several ways you can get your credit report online free of charge. To help you understand your options for obtaining your totally free report, we should take a quick look at where your credit reports come from in the first place.

You actually have three reports, though most people don't realize it. There are three companies that collect credit information about U.S. consumers. Those companies are TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, and each one compiles a credit report about you.

It's important to note that, currently, these are the only sources of credit reports in the United States. So when a mortgage lender (for example) pulls your credit, it's pulling information from these three companies.

So you might ask: "Well why are there so many websites offering totally free credit reports if there's only three companies that actually provide them."

Here's the main reason...

Some websites offer combined services that include your credit reports (among other things). For example, some services will help you gain access to all three of your reports and scores, while also providing some form of credit monitoring to help thwart credit fraud / identity theft. So while they partner with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion to provide your totally free credit report information, they also offer additional services on top of those reports.

By law, you are allowed to order your credit report for free once per year. You can do it by (A) visiting the websites of the reporting companies mentioned above, (B) by using the combined website at AnnualCreditReport.com, or (C) by using a combined service that also provides credit monitoring and other features.

I hope this helps you make sense of totally free credit reports online, and I wish you all the best in your financial and real estate endeavors.

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Learn more about this subject:
The Home Buyer's Guide to Credit
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