The Truth About Free Credit Reports

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A credit report is needed to get a loan from banks or credit unions like Denver credit union. Most times, we don’t want to pay for it and are on the lookout for where we can get a free credit report. If you watch TV, chances are you’ve seen ads about people who were able to avert their credit issues by simply getting a free report from a website. Of course, the ad was always amusing, but most companies sponsoring this kind of ad get in real trouble with the Federal Trade Commission. The reason is that the FTC felt the company was misleading anyone looking for a free credit report. When consumers eventually visited these websites, they were continually enrolled in a credit monitoring service that required them to pay a monthly fee.

To prevent this kind of scenario from taking place, the CARD Act was enacted. This action entails that companies place a notice at the top of their webpage that mentioned free reports that the only authorized source for actual free credit reports was annualcreditreport.com. The idea is so that when people visit this site, they will realize that these free credit reports they’re signing up for come with expensive strings. However, some credit unions make it clear that your credit report will be pulled from one of the major credit reporting bureaus when providing you with your credit report.

Of course, these companies are smart and don’t want to send potential customers away. Due to this, many of them change tactics and charge a token amount. Others offer to provide you with your free credit scores instead of a report. However, if you pay close attention to the adverts, you’ll still recognize how misleading they are. They intend to get you to sign up for a service like credit monitoring. The only real place to get your credit report is Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion, used by the Denver credit union. The only site this is available is also annualcreditreport.com.

You must know the truth behind a free credit report the next time you want to sign up at one of these websites. Also notable is that credit reports are not included in the credit score; that’s something you have to pay for differently. When you review your credit report, you’ve taken the first notable step towards improving your credit score. The reason is that when there are incorrect details present in your credit report, it can lower your credit score.

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