Inspired by Muushka......Free Credit Reports!

[LIFERBABE]

I posted this thread on the Budget Board a few months back. Alot of DVCers ask if DVC financing shows up on your Credit Report. Now you can find out for Free!!

Free Credit Reports Article and Info

Also, I signed up for their credit monitoring service months ago and I really like it. They do email you an alert every time someone checks your credit ( I discovered my employer was running mine MONTHLY!! and put a stop to it) and they email you your Credit Score monthly too. It is very secure and requires a login to view your alerts. This service is like $12.95 a month.

We have USAA and last month they sent a post card for the same exact service for $3 to $5 a month if you sign up thru the USAA link. You do have to be a member or elgible but I know many of us are so wanted to pass that on also. I switched to USAA and the billing is the same as when I was paying $12.95 so that is an awesome savings and really makes the service a necessity.


HTH
LIFER

 

[Caskbill]

Keep in mind the site being listed, FreeCreditReport.com, offers free credit reports if you sign up for their monthly service.

This is NOT the free credit reports that have been mandated by Congress and that phase in across the country over time.

The official link for getting the free credit reports is AnnualCreditReport.com. You can check there to see if free reports have been activated for your part of the country yet.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Keep in mind the site being listed, FreeCreditReport.com, offers free credit reports if you sign up for their monthly service.

This is NOT the free credit reports that have been mandated by Congress and that phase in across the country over time.

The official link for getting the free credit reports is AnnualCreditReport.com. You can check there to see if free reports have been activated for your part of the country yet.

Thanks Bill and I should clarify, that the information listed is a newspaper article from December 2004 from our local paper. They do list the link to www.annualcreditreport.com further down in the article and explain the difference between the two sites. The journalist did report that she was able to obtain her free report even after she declined the monthly monitoring service. I opted in, so sorry for the confusion by mentioning it but it helped me, so I was hoping it would help others.



I am quoting the portion of the article below that highlights the FACT Act and the federally mandated FREE credit reports:

Implementation of the new federal law calls for residents of Western states to start receiving their reports this month. Midwest state residents can get their reports starting March 1, those in Southern states starting June 1 and Eastern state residents starting Sept. 1. The rollout is designed to prevent a flood of applications

Texans can receive a free copy of their credit reports from the other two credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, in June. At that time, consumers can go to www.annualcreditreport.com or call (877) 332-8228 to receive all three of the reports at no charge.

Because consumers are only allowed one report from each agency in a 12-month period, a savvy strategy would be to get one bureau's report, then wait three or four months to get the next, then wait again for the final report.

Spacing out the reports will enable you to monitor any potential identity theft problems for free..

This article was a great source of info to us and I was even able to fix some inaccuracies that were listed.

 

[JimC]

For complete information regarding the federal law, FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) and other matters concerning protecting your credit from a source not trying to sell you something:

http://www.consumersunion.org/issues/creditmatters.html

 

[Muushka]

Thank you for the information LIFERBABE. As frugal as I am, I am certain I will be subscribing to some sort of monitoring service. I logged onto the USAA site, but they asked for my SSN . No way I was doing that!
My father was in the military, so I figured I would try to go that route, but I don't think I am eligible.

Our state (NC) will have free credit check as of 9/01/2005. I have already (paid for and ) requested credit reports from the big 3. I am on needles and pins waiting for the result. I was seriously considering going car shopping this weekend just have them run a credit check to see where I stood! Ironic isn't it? A total stranger can get my credit report in minutes and I have to wait for up to 10 days.

For anyone reading these threads, take it very seriously. I cannot stress how careful I am about my personal information. If it happened to me, it can happen to anyone.

I hope things change about this type of theft soon. It is amazing. I called the Bronx police today-armed with a name (well, it happens to be my name-MISSPELLED (oye, the theif cannot even spell)), address and phone number of the thief and they would not do a thing. I have to wait to fill out my fraud report, submit it to my local police and then they are the ones to let the Bronx police know. And from what I understand, they won't do much.

I can't help it AAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH again!

Wow, a thread inspired by Muushka. Wish it was for something good . Thanks again for the info.

 

[LIFERBABE]

And you have provided a very important reminder about identity theft so thank you for sharing.

Dh's wallet was stolen last August and the thief used his Bank Debit card several times at Wal-Mart to purchase T.V's etc. He didnt even know it was missing because we stayed in that weekend. Monday morning I pulled up our online banking and thought it strange, because 1. Dh never uses his Debit card, and 2. We don't shop at Wal-Mart.

Our bank was great and knew our history and patterns so they immediately credited the money back to our account. WM would not do a thing, not even look at the video so thiefs know that they won't be pursued.

I immediately called the bank and shut everything down and we had to put a Fraud alert on Dh's credit reports.

That's when we decided we needed to start shopping for a monitoring service, because his wallet and I.D's were never recovered. We can't stop them from using his identity but we will know right away and can shut it down quickly.

I agree, Im frugal too, and definitely did not want another monthly bill, but I don't see how we can do without this service with ID theft being so rampant.

 

[Muushka]

I did a search on these boards on ID theft and found a poster that was arrested for crimes he did not committ-but the one who stole the identity did.
Got me to thinking. So this AM I went to the local police station and was able to have them fill out a very detailed report (as opposed to the casual way they handled it over the phone the other day...). They will also notify the NYPD as to the theft.

The good news is that the wonderful thief did not committ any crimes in my name. That would have sent me over the edge for sure. Now I am just waiting for the credit reports to tell me the damage. I can deal with bad credit, I cannot imaging the legal mess with criminal activity.

 

[CarolA]

Thank you for the information LIFERBABE. As frugal as I am, I am certain I will be subscribing to some sort of monitoring service. I logged onto the USAA site, but they asked for my SSN . No way I was doing that!
:[/QUOTE}


You can call the USAA 1 800. 531 8080 to join if that makes you more secure. (Personally this panic over the SS # just amazes me.... if someone wants it they can get your SS# in spite of the "protections" people attempt. As seems to have happened to you.)

I don't understand the wait... I got my Credit report in about 2 mintues the other day?

 

[kathleena]

And some do not need to wait for the federal schedule at all:

Am I entitled to a free credit report under state law?

In addition to consumers who are eligible for a free credit file disclosure through the Annual Credit Report Request Service; consumers in some states are eligible for a free credit file disclosure under state law. The following states have laws that make free credit reports available to consumers: Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont.

 

[Muushka]

Thank you for the information LIFERBABE. As frugal as I am, I am certain I will be subscribing to some sort of monitoring service. I logged onto the USAA site, but they asked for my SSN . No way I was doing that!
:[/QUOTE}


You can call the USAA 1 800. 531 8080 to join if that makes you more secure. (Personally this panic over the SS # just amazes me.... if someone wants it they can get your SS# in spite of the "protections" people attempt. As seems to have happened to you.)

I don't understand the wait... I got my Credit report in about 2 mintues the other day?

Thanks for the USAA phone number, I will call Monday.

I'm not sure what you mean be "panic over the SSN". It appears (but not 100% certain)that mine, according to the police, was stolen where I work.
Are you saying that people should not bother to protect their SSN because they will get it anyway?

Where did you get your credit report in 2 minutes? 2 of the 3 agencies that I requested with are up to 10 working days and the one I did over the internet that promised that it would be quick-I had to call the next day to verify that I was who I said I was.

I hope this never happens to you.

 

[anabelle]

I got my credit reports online via the links above. You have to know basic information about your credit. Like who holds your mortage and how much it is, where you lived/live current, etc. They use those questions to verify your ID. They will also ask you SS# as well. You can print them out for each of the 3 Credit reporting agencies. You can also pay $5-6 to get your credit score.