Topic: Free credit reports! YEAH right!!!

[Cheesemaker]

Well, my wife got talked into doing a free credit report from one of her friends.  Well, I get the visa bill and damn if there isn't a god damn    $14.95 charge.  Well, I do a online check for CIC Triple Advantage, and sure enough there is a site on how they rip ya off!  So, I'm getting my $29.90, they just charged me for my monthly service fee of watching my account!  So, beware!  Don't let your wife or friend talk you into a free credit check!  Go to your bank of financial adviser and pay them to do one.   

Here is the site that helped me!
http://www.knowzy.com/Personal_Finance/Credit/Credit_Monitoring_Is_A_Rip_Off-StepByStep-Canceling_CIC_TripleAdvantage.htm#1CallCIC

[jimbo74]

be careful, you actually do get 1 free credit report a year, but there are a lot of companies that charge for this service.... sure those companies work and are legit, but they cost $.... you can check it yourself for free, once a year

do not go to the one they advertise on TV

[kneedownnate]

I finally went to do a free credit report a while back and did a search for it first.  I saw some sites where people were talking about freecreditreport.com and found this out:  all the places offering a free credit report are pretty much scams!  I can't remember the site that offers the REAL free credit reports, but if I remember right there's really only one place which does it comlpetely free. 

[CTENG in KS]

annualcreditreport.com

it is the one set up by the credit companies themselves to comply with the legislation.

[Stocker]

All good info above...  ya gotta read all the fine print and pay close attention to details.  I got mine free a couple times over the years.  All you get is a printout of your credit report, so you can check it for errors and try to correct anything if necessary...

The one on TV charges you a fee (fine print) and supplies you with your credit score -- which afaik is not available free...

[kneedownnate]

I got mine free a couple times over the years. 

And where'd you go to get this?

annualcreditreport.com

That sounds like the same place I'm thinking of.

[Stocker]

And where'd you go to get this?

Actually, the first one was so long ago that I wrote to one of the reporting agencies (Experian, etc...).  But for the more recent one, I went to the only legitimate website I am aware of...  the one CTENG in KS mentioned.  https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp


To add a bit more info from this site http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html

"Important information from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency:  annualcreditreport.com is the ONLY authorized online source for you to get a free credit report under federal law. You can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months. Some other sites claim to offer "free" credit reports, but may charge you for another product if you accept a "free" report."

[kneedownnate]

That sounds like it verbatim 

[MiniSimp]

I go to freecreditreport.com and it's free.
Just have to be careful at the end, they ask you if you would like a tripple report and that costs money.