The question of “Is a so-called free credit report really free?” has been asked so many times that the United States federal government finally did something that gives every single American adult the legal right to obtain a copy of the credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) once a year through a law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA. The U.S. is not the only country to do this though.

There is a website that the Federal Trade Commission set up so that those that are in the United States can get their free copy of their credit report once a year. What everyone who is looking to get a free copy of their own credit report really needs to look out for are websites and services that advertise “free” credit reports. We all have seen and heard all of the television, radio and Internet commercials and ads for a “free” credit report. The problem comes in when you start reading the “fine print” that is part of the deal. There have been many that advertise a “free” credit report that are only sales services that say that you can get a “free” copy of your credit report… with a catch!

Most of those so-called “free” credit report sites offer you a “free” copy of your credit report after you agree to sign up for their service or agree to the terms of another type of deal that will give your personal information to a third-party that may or may not be legitimate. This is why you need to be very, very careful and cautious when visiting websites or calling telephone numbers that are promising you a “free” copy of your credit report.

You are best off going to the three credit reporting agency’s official websites to order a free copy of your credit report. You are also entitled to receive a free copy of your credit report if you have been turned down for a loan at any time; the only catch here is that you have to ask for your credit report within Sixty (60) Days of getting the written rejection notification. There are other situations under you are also given the right to get a free copy of your credit report: being turned down for a job due to bad credit or you were declined for an insurance policy (auto, life or health).

You need to be aware that you are going to be charged a fee by these three reporting agencies if you are asking for more than one copy of your credit report in a twelve month period. This is to cover the costs of their time and the postage that they need to pay to sent your credit report(s) out by postal mail. You can get access to your copy of your annual free credit report by ordering it online, as this is part of the service that the credit reporting agencies provide free of charge to you.

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