We’ve all heard those corny but unbelievably catchy songs from freecreditreport.com. They promise a free credit report, ways to prevent your finances from going to shame, and how to ensure your score is loan worthy.
I’m not going to lie though, even with those cute songs that get stuck in your head all day I’ve always been skeptical. I mean the url freecreditreport.com just screams sketchy right? Nevertheless, I’ve always wanted to try it, so a couple of weeks ago I did. Hopefully, if you’re like me and wanted to try it as well and but have been hesitant, this post will calm your fears.
Day 1
I first typed in “freecreditreport.com” and was directed to the homepage where I was given two options, to either get an instant report for a dollar or get a free report and wait a few days to receive my info. Since we like to talk about making smart, consistent decisions on spending I chose the free option.
After I selected, I was directed to a series of questions that included: basic information, security questions, account creation, etc. It also gave me a list of names, asking if I had ever lived with any of them. Out of the four or five listed I had not lived with any of them and chose the option saying so.
Once all my info was recorded I was redirected to a page asking me to sign up to get all three (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) credit reports the site offers. Be Careful on this page however. Adding your credit card information on this page will charge you $39.95. I suggest you exit out of this page and play the waiting game.
20 Minutes Later…
I received an email thanking me for requesting a credit report and subsequently telling how I could sign up for and enjoy all of the benefits freecreditreport.com could provide for me. Ironically, this is also not free.
2 Days Later…
Sure enough as promised I received an email with a link to take me to my credit report. After putting in my username, password, and last four digits of my social security I was directed to a page that tried to get me to sign up (again) for a free trial of freecreditreport.com and they would tell me my credit score, or there is a small option that skips you to your credit report. This is where I realized I was never going to find out my credit score for free like I thought I would the whole time… I knew it was sketchy…
The free report they do give though does have some basic useful information. Such as: number of negative accounts; real estate, installment, and revolving debt; bankruptcy and court judgements (although I feel like you would already know the answer to this section…); credit inquires (who has looked at your credit); credit cards, loans and other debts; and a teasing credit score section…
However Just out of curiosity I did sign up for the free trial of freecreditreport.com, simply just to see my credit score.
Post upgrade
I went back to the page that offered a free upgraded account for a week and submitted my credit card info. After I did this I was directed back to my report page but this time I was able to see my score (which wasn’t too shabby!).
The deal was that if I canceled the membership within the next 9 days I would not be charged.
I figured this would be a quick click in the account settings tab. I was wrong… You have to call their customer service line and listen to a TON of garbage before you can actually cancel your membership. They will even offer you 50% off for the next three years, so if you do want to keep the membership just call and tell them you want to cancel and you’ll receive a discount (you’re welcome). It was finally canceled and I will update later if I was ever actually charged anything.
Quick Summary
This site is pretty cool if you want to monitor your credit, they offer a lot of services. However if you, like me, just wanted to find your report and score for free, be prepared to spend some time sifting through a bunch of “special offers” that will easily trap you into accidentally spending money. You can get both for free though, which is awesome. Please remember if you are going the free route that you MUST CALL TO CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP, otherwise its $16 a month.
