A Free Online Credit Report Is OK, But Beware Of Additional Offers That May Cost Money

These days a good credit rating is more important than ever. Having a bad credit rating is the modern day equivalent of being leper; you’ll be shunned and rejected by people and businesses everywhere. With so much of our economics today running on credit, it is no wonder why people hold credit ratings with such importance. I almost never actually use cash anymore for anything. Next time you’re in a long line at the supermarket, count how many people ahead of you pay with cash. Repeat this little experiment a few times and you’ll see what I mean.

So it’s a good idea to keep a close watch on your credit rating. When was the last time you checked? If you can’t remember, its probably a good idea to get a free online credit report.

There are a number of sights to get free online credit reports from, and most of them are very easy to use. I recently gave ‘freecreditreport.com’ a try and I was more or less satisfied. It is true, you do get a free online credit report, however it doesn’t have a lot of details in it. Basically, you just get your overall credit score from Experian, without any specific records. To get more details, or to see your score from the other credit agencies, you have to ‘upgrade’ your account which of course costs money.

Having a good understanding of your credit rating is worthwhile, however, and if the score you get in your free online credit report is lower than you thought it would be its probably worth paying the fee to find out why. Sites that offer free online credit reports are apparently gambling that you’ll want more information. Fortunately for me, I discovered my rating was higher than I’d thought, so I was happy with my free online credit report by itself.

One thing to watch for if you sign up for a free online credit report is any additional memberships the site signs you up for. For example, ‘freecreditreport.com’ automatically signs you up with a credit service called Triple Advantage, and while your initial membership is free if you don’t cancel it within a month you’ll start getting regular monthly charges. The service is actually interesting, however, as it allows you to track recent changes to your credit rating. If you are especially worried about current trends in your credit rating, it may be worth holding on to your membership there.