How to Obtain Your Free Annual Credit Report with No Strings Attached

Credit monitoring companies are generally very selfish when it comes to their clients. They prey on people who are worried about their credit being in its best form and lure them in by promising a "free" credit report. They assume these customers don't want to go through the hassle of contacting the credit companies one by one, so they charge around $35 a month for credit "monitoring" services to people who can't really afford an additional bill in the first place.

A few years back I discovered a website that makes it easy for you to see all of your credit reports for free with no hidden or recurring fees. Annualcreditreport.com is a free service that helps you request one free credit report from the three credit reporting agencies in one sitting. It's fast, secure and takes about five to ten minutes to complete.

At annualcreditreport.com you enter your personal information and then select whether or not you want your entire social security number visible in the report or just the last 4 or 5 digits for security purposes. Once you fill in your information you are taken to a page where you can select TransUnion, Experian and Equifax one at a time.

The link brings you to the exact web page you need to obtain your annual credit report. After filling in a little more information for personal verification, depending on the company your report will either be immediately visible and ready to print or it will be mailed to you. Once complete you hit a link at the top of the page to go back to annualcreditreport.com and you can then select the company next on the list. It's that easy.

I check my credit once a year to look for erroneous entries and just to keep tabs on how well I'm doing. Unfortunately that means I had previously made an account with TransUnion's website. When I went to retrieve my credit report recently with TransUnion they recognized my personal verification information and prompted me to log in yet there was no way to retrieve your username and password because I couldn't remember my challenge answer.

There was no way to have a new challenge question sent to me without going through the hassle of mailing or calling them so I left in a huff and didn't bother with them again. If this is your first time with TransUnion's website you will be able to create an account to see your credit report. Just make sure to keep your username, password and challenge answer in a safe place.

If you are interested in finding out your credit score, Experian offers up your score for a one-time fee of $5.95 with no strings attached. Paying for your credit score is the only way to receive it unless you are applying for a loan or a mortgage in a bank. Usually the loan officers can instantly pull up your credit score and they will give it to you then if you ask but paying the $5.95 is much cheaper than taking out a mortgage. I jest.

If you don't trust the online experience regarding your personal information you can always mail the three agencies and ask for your free credit report.

In your letter be sure to include your social security number, current and previous addresses, driver's license or government ID card copy and a copy or two of bills that are in your name such as your electric bill and phone bill just to verify your identity.

The addresses are as follows:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, Georgia 30374

Experian
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, Texas 75013

TransUnion
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

In my opinion, their secured websites are safer than sending all of your life history through the mail but it's really your only other option.