Check Credit Score
TweetWays to Check Your Credit Score.
It is wise to check your credit score, at least annually, to make sure everything is where it should be. There are a few different ways for you to check your credit score.
You can check your credit score directly through the bureaus. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion are the three main bureaus. Your report information varies from each bureau so you should check your credit score with each one. You can check your credit score with a single report from each bureau. Or you can check all three credit scores at the same time with a 3-in-1 report.
You can also check your credit score through MyFico.com. FICO scores are well known and widely used by lenders and creditors. You can check your Equifax and TransUnion credit scores through MyFico.com; however, you can no longer check your Experian credit score. If you want to check your Experian credit score you will have to go directly through Experian.
AnnualCreditRpeort.com is another way. In 2003, the federal government passed the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions) which entitles consumers to one free copy of their credit report annually from each of the three main bureaus. This is only the credit report, if you want to check your credit score you will need to purchase it. The bureaus will offer you a discount on your score if it is in relation to your free report.
Check your credit score for free. There are sites that advertise “check your credit score for free.” That’s partially true. In one case you can check your score for free, but only if you sign up for a monitoring service and pay a monthly fee. In another case, you can absolutely check your credit score free of charge, only it’s not your actual credit score but an estimate of your credit score. A third case would be someone attempting to extract your personal information with the intent of identity fraud. So be careful who you do business with. If you want to check your actual credit score, you will need to pay for it.
You can check your credit score through a loan or mortgage officer. You can circumvent the bureaus all together and check your credit score through a loan officer or mortgage broker who can access your credit scores for you if your give them authorization. This is only recommended if a home loan is in your near future and you plan on working with the particular officer since you will have to pay a fee for your visit with them.
Keep in mind you may only be able to check your credit score and report and may not be able to get a copy to take with you. In many cases it is against company policy for loan and mortgage officers to distribute copies of credit reports to their clients. You will also be dinged with an inquiry for having a third-party check your credit score. If you check your own score and report you will not get hit with an inquiry.
