Do You Know the Best Place to Access Your Yearly Free Credit Report?

Most people think that using the service established by the government is their best resource for accessing their credit files. This is somewhat true and somewhat incorrect in that using the website provided at annualcreditreport.com will allow you access to your credit reports only once each year and does not provide free credit scores. The part that I do not like about this service is that if you are looking for your scores, you are prompted to pay the full retail cost for this information.
When someone wants to access credit reports and credit scores, there is no need to pay retail when there are many options that provide this information free. Now we all know that nothing is exactly free, and the sources that provide the best information actually want you to sign up for a trial membership with their credit monitoring service. I see nothing wrong with this as long as you know what you are doing and you know your intent is to receive free information. As long as you understand that you need to cancel the service if you do not want to pay, then all is good and you are on your way to receiving about $30 worth of information free.
I have found that the easiest way to verify cancellation of one of these free trial offers is by locating and calling their toll-free phone number. Most companies that want to keep you as a customer do not make it that easy to cancel, and this is why finding their phone number and giving them a call is the easiest and best way to verify you will not get a charge that surprises you.
One of the reasons that I like this method is that the information is usually provided by one of the big three credit agencies. Even though these companies you sign up with have unique and often catchy names, they are usually owned by one of the major credit bureaus. This means that you will be getting your credit reports and credit scores from the same company that wanted to charge you to receive your scores if you used the government service. Therefore using the method I am describing you get the exact same information however, you do not have to pay.
Many consumers think that their information needs to be provided directly from each individual credit agency and this is not accurate. You will see that many companies have the ability to provide you with your credit information as they have an arrangement with all three of the major credit agencies. Sometimes it can be more comforting knowing you are using one of the major credit agencies to access your information, but if you are not paying, there is no risk in trying to receive this information elsewhere.
When you sign up for a free trial offer, all that you need to do is verify that you have received three reports and three scores directly from each agency. If you find that some information is missing or not accurate, simply repeat the process until you find a reliable source. Usually your first attempt will be successful if you make sure the offer is exactly what you want. Make sure that you are getting an offer for real scores and not simulated scores if this is what you need.
You really can't go wrong accessing your yearly credit report as long as you do not agree to pay anything up front for the information you want. After reviewing what you receive, you can then cancel the service if you do not want to be a member. It is that easy.