The 2003 amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act gave over 200 million of us the right to see our credit reports
once per year for free from each of the credit reporting agencies. But
did you know that millions of consumers are entitled to additional free
credit reports from all of the credit reporting agencies because of the
state where they live? That’s right: Many states were ahead of the
credit report freebie curve and had consumer disclosure laws in place
long before the federal law went into effect.
If you live in any
of these states, you are entitled to one free credit report in addition
to your federal freebie: Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
and Vermont. And if you live in Georgia, you are entitled to two free
credit reports in addition to your federal freebie.
What the law does not provide for is a free credit score.
This was a well-debated topic that generated strong opinions on each
side of the argument. On the one had, a free credit score is nice to
have because it saves you a few dollars. On the other hand, simply
giving away a credit score without significant context renders it
somewhat useless. Having said that, I can certainly understand and
appreciate both sides of the argument.
September has come and is
almost gone. If you have not claimed your federal freebie or your state
freebies, don’t forget to exercise your rights!
John Ulzheimer – Credit scoring and credit reporting expert and author, John is the President of Consumer Education for Credit.com. Formerly with Equifax and Fair Isaac, John shares his unique insight of the inner workings of credit scoring models and the credit reporting industry on CreditBloggers.com.
John Ulzheimer Formerly with Equifax and Fair Isaac, John shares his unique insight of the inner workings of credit scoring models and the credit reporting industry on Credit.com News & Advice.
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