How Can I Get A Free Credit Report?
Everyone has seen the catchy commercials on television that shows you how bad life can be if your identity is stolen or your credit is bad and how obtaining a free credit report
can make sure that you never have to experience these devastating occurrences. There are a number of different companies out there that are promising a free credit report, but what many people that use these services are unaware of is that they will end up paying money to the company that they decide to get their “free” credit report from.
How The Free Credit Report Service Works
The free credit report services that have their commercials on television or pop up in ads while you are surfing the internet are just as interested in making money as any other business in the nation. The way that many of these companies make their money is by automatically enrolling you in a credit monitoring service when you request your free credit report. In this way, the company is still giving you your credit report for free but they are making money by charging you for your enrollment in their credit monitoring service.
In many cases, the person that is signing up for the free credit report does not realize that they are being signed up for the credit monitoring service until after they have been charged for the service. On commercials for the free credit report, the disclosure about the enrollment in the credit monitoring service is at the very end of the commercial at a much lower volume than the rest of the commercial. For websites offering a free credit report, the enrollment disclosure is generally tucked into the terms and conditions or printed in small letters at the bottom of the website.
The fees for the credit monitoring service can range from $9.95 to $39.95 per month, which is automatically charged to the person each month after they have requested their free credit report until the person calls the company and cancels the credit monitoring service. The way that these companies ensure that they receive their money is by requiring you to enter a valid credit card number in order to receive access to the credit report. In some cases, it is very hard to cancel the service, resulting in the person paying $80 or more for their “free” credit report.
Is There Anywhere Where I Can Get A Free Credit Report?
There is a single website sanctioned by the United States government to offer the one free credit report from each of the credit monitoring bureaus as required by law. By using this website, AnnualCreditReport.com, the person can obtain a truly free credit report so that they can monitor their credit report for any mistakes or unauthorized charges.
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