I am looking for a place I can request my credit report for free, without giving any credit card info or signing up for some monthly service. I know about CreditKarma, but was wondering if there were any other options? Bankrate looks like they do something similar, but I want to know a few things before I request my credit report.
does CreditKarma or bankrate use the same credit bureau, or do they use separate ones?
would it be better to directly go to experian, transunion, etc and request my copy of my credit report from them directly? I have read two different opinions. Bankrate, for example, claims this request is a “soft” request, and does not hurt my credit score at all. I have also heard that each request for my credit score can negatively impact my credit rating (I have never understood why this would be the case, but it seems to be accepted “folklore”, so I’d like to know the straight dope.)
is there a website I can visit that will provide me legitimate car loan rates based on my credit information? If so, anyone have any recommendations?
AFAIK, my credit is excellent. Because of this, I want to take advantage of my high credit and get a the best loan rate possible. Not sure if I am going new car or certified used car yet, and I realize these rates can differ slightly, but that is ok for now.
As usual, I did a standard google, and received a ton of advertisements, and many companies had names unfamiliar to me. That doesn’t mean they are or aren’t legitimate, I just have no desire to turn my personal info over to them to get a credit report I could get with less risk.
It shouldn’t hurt your credit score to pull it yourself from any of the leading credit bureaus or Credit Karma. These are “soft” because they aren’t pulled for the purpose of extending you credit. “Hard” pulls by lenders confirming your credit do hurt your credit score.
The credit agencies have found, and thus their credit scores reflect the fact that, if you are applying for new credit, you may be at greater risk of borrowing more money than you can repay and thus more likely to default. The more credit lines you apply for, the more likely you are to get in over your head, so the greater the effect on your credit score. I understand there is one limited exception to this – you can apply for multiple mortgages on the same property within a 30-day period and it will have the same effect on your credit as though you had applied for only a single mortgage. This allows you to shop around for the best mortgage rate without killing your credit score. I assume the credit rating agencies have learned that people who shop around for mortgage loans aren’t worse credit risks than people who don’t shop around at all.
I’ll third Credit Karma. It is free and gives you credit scores.
However, be aware that Credit Karma is trying to sell you more loans and credit. Between very sensible recommendations about maintaining a good credit scores are tons of ridiculous ads to SAVE $$$ PER MONTH BY REFINANCING to a longer term, higher interest rate loan.
Also, Credit Karma does a “VantageScore” credit score, which is not the same as the FICO score which is more commonly used by creditors IIRC. The two are pretty similar, both using a 300-850 scale, but they can differ by 10-40 points or so. Practically speaking the difference is negligible if you’re comfortably within the “good” range of scores, but it might make a difference if you’re close to the boundaries.
Will give you your complete credit report from each of the three bureaus once a year. Since all three are usually in lock-step, a good trick is to request one from each every 4 months.
These do NOT include actual FICO score - usually a $10 option.
As you found, CreditKarma gives the two FICOs free.
It never hurts to check the details - and if your score drops suddenly, pulling a report and finding out why is a good idea.
The reports also provide info as to how to challenge an item.
The “Credit Repair” companies fo nothing that you can’t do - they demand that the bureau verify every last negative and remove any that can’t be substantiated.
Before everything got backed up for all eternity, this was a bit more effective than it is now.