# Free credit reports? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183 "2008-09-11T23:29:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/1 "2008-09-11T23:29:52Z")
We’ve all heard that we can get a free credit report each year from the three big report providers. But how? Everything I’ve found so far online indicates a price tag of at least $20.00. Are they no longer free? ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/2 "2008-09-11T23:31:20Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > We’ve all heard that we can get a free credit report each year from the three big report providers. But how? Everything I’ve found so far online indicates a price tag of at least $20.00. > Are they no longer free? > **[Annual Credit Report.com - Home Page](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action)** > > ACR Home Page [http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html](http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/3 "2008-09-11T23:31:32Z")
freecreditreport isn’t free. The only free thing about it is the word in the domain name. You’re looking for [annualcreditreport.com](http://annualcreditreport.com) That allows you to get a credit report from the big three once a year. ETA: _shakes fist_ ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/4 "2008-09-11T23:31:37Z")
You can get them from here, the offical site the credit agencies were required to set up by law: > **[Annual Credit Report.com - Home Page](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action)** > > ACR Home Page Be wary of other sites, most privately run “Free Credit Report” sites are flagrant scams. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/5 "2008-09-11T23:43:37Z")
By the way. Free credit reports do not include credit _scores_. You do get your scores for free in many cases when you’ve applied for a mortgage. [GovInfo](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+15USC1681g) You can buy your scores from the annualcreditreports site. ---
**Author:** ![Naturally\_Oblivious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ec9cab/32.png) [@Naturally\_Oblivious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naturally_Oblivious)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/6 "2008-09-11T23:45:20Z")
Make sure you’re ready with your info as well. They’re going to want your name, birthday, social security number, your last 4 addresses, your mother’s maiden name, the phase the moon was in when you were born, who won the 1963 world series, the velocity of an unladen swallow, and an eye of newt. On a serious note, do be prepared, they want a lot of info before they’ll give you your credit scores. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/7 "2008-09-11T23:54:38Z")
Remember that anytime they refuse to give you a loan due to the credit report, you are entitled to a free copy of the credit report they got. It can be more than once a year under that circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/8 "2008-09-12T00:00:35Z")
Hey, thanks for the reminder! Now I can spend the rest of the evening moping about my debt. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/9 "2008-09-12T00:35:12Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Remember that anytime they refuse to give you a loan due to the credit report, you are entitled to a free copy of the credit report they got. It can be more than once a year under that circumstance. To expand, it’s actually any adverse action against your account. That could include involuntary account closure, change in payment terms, increased interest rate and so on. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/10 "2008-09-12T00:46:04Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > You can get them from here, the offical site the credit agencies were required to set up by law: > [Annual Credit Report.com - Home Page](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp) > > Be wary of other sites, most privately run “Free Credit Report” sites are flagrant scams. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/11 "2008-09-12T01:21:53Z")
Remember, when you go to [Annual Credit Report.com - Home Page](https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp) you can obtain a credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. But don’t do that. Obtain just one free report from one of the agencies. Four months from now, go back again and obtain a free report from the second agency. Four months later, go back and obtain your free credit report from the third agency. If you follow this round robin approach every four months, you will be able to check your credit rating three times a year, ad infinitum, for free. **That’s because you are entitled to one free credit report, from each reporting agency, once a year.** By staggering your right over the course of a year you can stay on top of things. Of course, if you’re buying a house, fixing a poor rating, or whatever, you might not want to go this route. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-reports-really/463183/12 "2008-09-12T03:29:56Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > By the way. Free credit reports do not include credit _scores_. …You can buy your scores from the annualcreditreports site. I just got 2 free credit reports from [annualcreditreports.com](http://annualcreditreports.com). The fee to get your actual credit score was (IIRC) $7.95. That’s a lot less than the “freecreditreports” sites are charging!