If you're anything like me, you'll occasionally catch yourself singing those freecreditreport.com jingles and chuckling to yourself about how catchy and clever they are. But is the credit report you get from freecreditreport.com, or similar sites, really free? 

Many of these sites offer some free credit information, like a report or score, then bait you into eventually paying for a monthly credit-monitoring package.

The majority of the "free" credit report sites require you to enter your credit/debit card information prior to them sending your report. If you want the monitoring service, you might think the automatic monthly charge is worth it. If you don't want the service, and you're disciplined enough to cancel it before you get charged, then go for it. Otherwise, you might want to reconsider ordering your credit report from one of these sites.

There is, however, one site that allows you to pull your credit report for absolutely free - no catch and no credit card necessary. Annualcreditreport.com is the only official site you can obtain your credit report for free every 12 months. The FTC states that this site is the "ONLY authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law." Your annualcreditreport.com report includes data from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They don't provide you with your FICO score without a small fee, however.

If you want your credit score for free, CreditKarma.com does actually provide a 100% free credit score. They claim the score they provide is the "TransRisk New Account Score provided by TransUnion. This risk score represents your likelihood of delinquency or non-payment of credit obligations. This score is based on information in your TransUnion credit report and ranges from 300 to 850." It's also just a soft inquiry on your credit report that will not affect your score.

There is another way to obtain a free credit report. According to the FTC, under federal law, you're entitled to a free report if a company takes adverse action against you such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action. You're also entitled to one free report a year if you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days, if you're on welfare, or if your report is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft.

To Buy a copy of your report, contact:

If you have any questions, or if you or someone you know is looking to either Buy or Sell real estate in Central Oregon, please let me know. I'll be happy to help!