Is a Free Credit Score Really Free?
Unlike free credit reports your free credit score is not information that you can get for free. You might be familiar with these online ads: "Get a 3-in-1 free credit report and score delivered instantly online" or "Free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 credit scores online in seconds!" or even "Get your free credit report and score with a 30-day trial".
What do the words at the last ads mean? Yes, you can view your credit score for free but only during trial period. Some web sites warn you that the offer is not related to the free credit report that you are entitled to under the federal law. But some others ask to give them your credit card information in the hope that you forget to cancel this service after thirty days.
Reasons to Check Your Credit Score
Your credit score indicates your creditworthiness. Even though the precise formula used to develop the credit score is not published the factors such as the amount of money you owed to creditors, payment history, whether you are seeking new extensions of credit, and the types of credit lines that you currently hold affect your credit rating.
Your credit score determines the approval of your loan application and the cost of the loan. Every time you apply for credit, your lender will check your score to know how likely you'll repay your debt. As your credit score is determined based on information on your credit report, any error could affect your score.
For that reason, it is essential that you regularly check your credit report and credit score to keep track of any adverse changes that could lower down your score. But here is the thing that confuses us. Can we get FICO score for free, like the way we get our yearly free credit report?
How to Get Free Credit Scores
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you can get free credit reports once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. However, the free credit report doesn't have any credit scores. If you want to request your FICO credit scores you have to pay a fee that is determined by the Federal Trade Commission.
The three major credit reporting agencies charge a small fee whenever you order a copy of your credit rating. In fact, some credit report companies are confusing consumers by offering them a free credit report and score that are not part of the mandated free annual credit report program.
These credit report services actually sell your credit score and advice for improving it for a fee. The "free credit score" or "free credit monitoring" comes with strings attached. Some imposter sites use "free" terms and try to make you to believe that their offers are a part of your annual free credit report. But if you sign up for that "free" service you will have to pay once that 30 day trial period is over.
So obtaining free credit score is different from ordering free annual credit report. You can order a copy of your annual free credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com. However, you cannot view your credit score for free. You can check your free FICO score but you need to sign up for thirty days free trial period with a credit card.
