Why Free Credit Reports Are Not Always FREE? – Let Us Find Out...

“All scams, there’s nothing called a FREE credit report or score” – Is that what you think the moment you read the term “free credit report” or “free credit score” anywhere on the Internet? Of course, 99% of you are guilty of this.

Interestingly, the truth is - there’s a good chance that you are also yet another misinformed consumer. We all know that as an American citizen, each one of us is entitled to a free credit report from the Federal government every year. Yes, you can either order the reports of all three bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) at once, or you may order them one bureau report at a time, any time of the year. No penny spent.

Then why do people order for credit reports from anywhere other than the official government website to access credit reports, and many times claim these credit product providers to be scammers later? This answer is twofold.
Firstly, there are two primary reasons why people order credit reports from sources other than the government website that provides a truly free credit report:

• No credit score in free annual reports by the U.S. government – Yes, the catch here is that these annual reports provided by the government from the three major credit bureaus do not contain any calculated score. It simply mentions your financial transactions.

• To ensure accuracy by frequent credit report checks - According to a recent survey, around 70% of credit reports contain errors. As a consumer, it is your duty to ensure that your credit report is accurate. It is important for you to check that all your financial moves, from clearance of a heavy debt to payments of your latest mortgage instalment and utility bills are indeed reflected correctly in each of these reports from all the three major credit bureaus.

If you ask the finance experts, they always advise on checking the reports on a monthly basis and ordering all three bureau reports together so that you may identify any errors in either of the reports by comparing the transactions. If you check your credit reports once a year, this won’t be of much use to you as you won’t remember all your financial transactions anyway.

• Protection from Identity Theft – A 2002 statistics revealed 9.9 million cases of identity theft, which is most likely to have at least tripled in the past 10 years, or even more. Identity theft damages your credit severely and may leave you financially crippled for many years to come, or even for life. Constant credit report checks can help you know about such fraudulent activities before it is too late. You can inform the credit bureaus as soon as you discover any suspicious activity in your account. This minimizes the damage done to your credit to a great extent.     

Secondly, many might wonder that when people order credit reports from these private sources or credit product providers themselves then why do so many consumers accuse them to be scammers later?

The thing is, people forget that in the end, they are ordering credit reports from a private service provider, even if it is from the same three bureaus, i.e Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, that provide government annual credit reports. So, they do give you access to an entirely “free” credit report and score as they promised in their advert, until their trial period is over, and soon after that, they charge you for the monthly run, leaving the people feel cheated. This is just a small marketing gimmick utilized by these service providers. We all know, they are not here for charity. Smart consumers are gradually becoming aware of this tactic now. And no matter what, this need to check credit reports frequently is more of a necessity than an option now.

If you want to opt out of any such service, be sure to cancel your order before your trial period ends.
For those of you who are too sceptical to try these services, we recommend that you try the 7-day trial period of CreditReport.com to access your 3 bureau credit report from the major bureaus, i.e Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Otherwise priced at $19.95 per month, this is a very reasonable service, considering that it offers you:

• 3-bureau credit reports and scores
• 24*7*365 credit monitoring services from all three bureaus
• Email intimations on any changes made in the credit reports
• Immediate alerts for any suspicious activity observed in your account
• Full time access to your latest credit reports and scores
• Professional guidance and resolution help in the case of fraud

The private information of consumers is well protected and not shared with anyone else. It is only after complete verification of this private information submitted by users that people are given access to their free credit reports and scores.

To shield against ID theft abuses and keep an eye on your credit status, be sure to click the link below to access the three-bureau credit report and make the most of their credit monitoring services.

Click Here to Try the 7-Day Trial from CreditReport.com