Credit, Credit, Credit, every time I turn on the television I see a new advertisement promoting Free Credit Scores. (It used to be Free Credit Reports but the FTC cracked down and made the ""big boys"" stop using this language). Now they can say Free Score but the problem is, they're not free. They offer a trial period then they proceed to charge you a monthly fee after a set number of days. While these programs are superior to the Free annual credit report that for some reason takes 15 days to process. Amazingly enough, it comes from the same database that all the companies that charge you to see your credit report.
If you're in a situation that requires you to have an idea of what your credit score is (buying a new car, leasing a new car, buying a house or getting any kind of loan) make sure that you think twice before entering a credit card number to receive a free trial or anything else for that matter. If a website didn't didn't plan on using your credit card information at some point and time, they wouldn't have asked for it. Read the fine print and save yourself from having to realize at some point in the future that you have been getting charged for that FREE score.
The Free Credit score industry has been booming since the recession as a lot of people hit hard times and want to keep an eye on how the recession has affected their credit standing with the credit bureas. I've started looking for sites that offer this same product for FREE. Credit Karma offers this service and has grown tremendously in the recent months. The only negative they may have is that you have to enter your entire Social Security number. Another good site is Centrro.com, this site offers you a FREE credit grade in real-time as well as Matching Credit Card Offers based upon the credit grade. A lot of people may feel better because they only require the last 4 digits of your social security. Pretty cool and scary at the same time.
The last time I checked your Social Security number was given to you for tracking you within the many governmental departments. Therefore, why is it you have to pay to see a true view of how the many companies that have access to your Social Security number have graded you? Well, now you don't! With the technology and competition for the almighty consumer I would think there are more sites on the way. Research and read the fine print before you do anything!
Greg Keown Founder http://www.creditcards4everyone.com
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