How to Check Your Credit Score

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By tikrit01
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Article Rating: (10 Ratings)

Check Your Credit Score

There are thousands of websites out there that claim to provide free credit reports and let you check your credit report. However, many of them are not actually free and at the end require you to buy a product and you never get the credit report check you were hoping for. There also are many scams so it is important to know how to find a reputable free place to check your credit score.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

internet
social security number

Step 1

You should obtain copies of your credit report at least once a year to check your credit as well as to insure that no fraud is taking place. The credit report will contain information pertaining to your financial records and payment information. Check your credit report for strange transactions and other abnormalities.
Step 2

The official site to obtain your free credit check is www.annualcreditreport.com and you can also call at 877-322-8228. This site will connect you with the major credit bureaus and allow you to get your free credit report. Many of the other companies that claim to let you check your credit for free actually will charge you or try to get you to sign up for credit monitoring.
Step 3

Once you have your free credit report, you will want to check it for accuracy. First, make sure that your name, address, Social Security number, and all other personal information is correct. Second, make sure that there are no accounts, debts, bankruptcies, or court judgments on your report that aren't yours. Finally, make sure that payment histories and balances are correct and that any errors you have reported have been fixed.
Step 4

You will be offered many extra services when getting your free credit report check. The most popular is credit monitoring which will cost between $120-180 per year. Many sites offer you a free credit report if you sign up for this service. You do not need this service (it is usually done by banks and credit cards free of charge) and you are guaranteed a free credit report every year so there is no reason to pay for it.

Comments

missbeth said

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on 4/27/2009 Excellent information re credit scores! 5*s

mjmetz said

on 4/15/2009 Good article with the address to the 'real' free credit report site. I also like creditkarma.com which will give you a free credit score as often as you want with no obligation or charge.