I’ve
been getting some questions related to credit reports – perhaps it’s the New
Year and people are trying to get back on track? Sounds like a good idea no
matter what, so here’s a braindump, er… ongoing compilation of all the ways I
can think of to get free credit reports, free credit scores, and free credit
monitoring services. Remember that there are three major consumer credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – all with possibly different data. A few of these offers require a free trial and noted as such, which is not preferred but I am not completely opposed to as you’re getting something of value for free. My personal rule is that I always cancel them the SAME DAY, preferably within an hour after saving what I need, that way there is nothing to forget. I’m only human as well!
* Equifax: 800-685-1111; Fraud Dept. 800-525-6285
* Experian: 888-397-3742 (same for Fraud Dept.)
* Trans Union: 800-916-8800; Fraud Dept. 800-680-7289
MyFICO Score Watch Trial. If you sign up for a free 10-day trial at MyFICO.com, you’ll get a free Equifax credit report and Equifax FICO credit score. You’ll need a credit card. You must call 1.888.577.5978 to cancel. My recommendation is to get your credit report and credit score, print or save to PDF, and then cancel immediately afterward on the same day so that you won’t forget later. Hours (PDT) M-F 6am-6pm, Sat 7am-4pm, Sun Closed.
Your credit score. Did you know that you have probably 50 flavors of your credit score. Even the “real” FICO score comes in several different versions, and there’s one per bureau. Personally, I would never pay $10-$20 a pop for a score. Many of the free providers below will also provide selected information directly from your credit reports, like overall credit limit utilization or total balances.
Credit Sesame / Experian. You can get a free credit score based on your Experian credit report from Credit Sesame, updated every month. They make money by sending you offers like lowering your mortgage rate. Screenshot:
CreditKarma / TransUnion. Similarly, get a free credit score
based on your TransUnion credit report from CreditKarma.com,
updated daily as long as you login each time. Also ad-supported.
Screenshot:
MyFICO Trial / Equifax. Same as above… If you sign up for a
free 10-day trial at MyFICO.com, you’ll get a free Equifax
credit report and Equifax FICO credit score. You’ll need a credit card. You can
try to cancel online, but it told me that you must call 1.888.577.5978 to
cancel. My recommendation is to get your credit report and credit score, print
or save to PDF, and then cancel immediately afterward on the same day so that
you won’t forget later. Hours (PDT) M-F 6am-6pm, Sat 7am-4pm, Sun Closed.Citi Idenitity Monitor Trial. Finally, if you’re willing to spend $1 and endure a trial, you can sign up with Citi Identity Monitor get a free credit score and free credit reports from each of the three major bureaus. After you submit your personal info, enter your credit card info, and choose your username/password, be sure to opt for the “free upgrade” which will give you the 3-in-1 report. You’ll have to call 866-279-9637 to cancel within 30 days. Again, cancel the same day if possible. Hours (ET) M-F 8am-11pm, Sat 9am-6pm, Sun Closed.
Credit monitoring checks your credit report data daily and sends you an email or text alert if any activities have occurred – for example, if there was a credit pull by a lender or a new address added. This can provide early warning of attempted identity theft, reporting errors, or simply am overzealous lender checking your credit without permission. Many providers charge $10-$20 a month for similar monitoring, and while it’s potentially useful I’ve never warmed to the idea of paying a hundred bucks a year for it.
Credit Sesame. You can get free daily credit monitoring based on your Experian credit report from Credit Sesame. If you’ve already signed up for the free Experian-based credit score, it’s a very simple opt-in. This service worked like a champ when tracking inquiries for credit card bonuses like my multiple American Express applications in one day. Screenshot:
Selected AAA Members. If you’re an AAA auto club member, you
may be eligible for free Experian credit monitoring as well. To see if your
local club offers this, visit aaa.com/identitymonitoring.CreditKarma. Get free daily credit monitoring of your TransUnion credit report from CreditKarma.com, also easy to add if you already subscribe to their free TransUnion-based credit score.
Learn how to build seo reports!For any search engine optimization service provider, to begin with – it is necessary to have a clear idea about various seo reports. To be introduced, to show the worth of seo services, to convince the importance of seo in business etc. etc. sending seo reports is something like a mandatory procedure. If you are a seo service provider, sometimes you have to generate several types of seo reports for your client websites (even if you’re not, this is helpful to analyze your own websites). Though this isn’t a difficult task, for clients it is important. Developing a report for any website regarding its on-site seo, off-site seo, keyword analysis or competitor analysis isn’t a big task. We don’t even need to use applications or tools to make this. It is very easy to develop a report manually if you have basic knowledge on seo, and that is the best option. In case if you wish to get it done quickly, there are lots of applications, tools and plugins like seoquake which will help generating information regarding a site’s seo data. Most of the times we may have to send any of the below ‘category’ reports to our clients.