Free Credit Report???

Perhaps you’ve seen the ads on TV. You’re offered a ‘free’ credit report by a company that has ‘free credit report’ in their web address. While this report could be free, you are asked for a credit card and are enrolled in a credit monitoring program that you will be billed for monthly after the first 30 days unless you cancel the membership.

You CAN get free credit reports with no strings attached however, thanks to The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. Go to Annualcreditreport.com.Through the site, or by phoning the toll-free 1-877-322-8228, you can get one report each year from each of the three major credit reporting companies -- Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. (The hearing impaired can use the TDD service at 1–877–730–4104).

The law -- along with the free reports -- went into effect early in 2004. Experian, Equifax and Transunion are required by the law to deliver one free report per year to every consumer requesting it. Formerly, the reports cost as much as $9 a peek.

Be sure to use the official site, though, because criminals and unscrupulous companies are preying on the unwary. Fake Web sites and spam have mushroomed, trying to trick the unwary into paying for something they can get for free. To get the report by mail, write to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service,
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Credit reports are used by the credit bureaus to create your credit score, the three-digit number lenders typically use to gauge your creditworthiness. While reports are free, you still need to pay one of the three bureaus to see your current score.These are no-strings reports. Yet, even the credit bureaus, in their advertising, use free credit reports as a way to sell you credit monitoring or a look at your credit score. Those may be valuable services, but don't be misled: You never have to pay a dime or sign up for any service or e-mail list -- as long as you go through annualcreditreport.com.

Feel free to call me in my Michigan office at 586-323-2920. I am here to help you with all your mortgage needs.