FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions:

How does the trial membership work?

Basically, during the trial period, everything is free.  After the trial period, the credit free reports provider will begin to charge your credit card on a monthly basis for their credit monitoring service.  If you decide that you don’t want to continue the service, you can cancel at anytime.  All of the services provide a toll free number for cancellations.

What is credit monitoring?

The majority of the credit report providers provide a service that monitors your credit report on a daily basis for any major changes.  If something changes, you are alerted by email or a text message.  This service is great for the situations at the beginning of this post.

How will the information be organized on my credit report?

Just about every credit report, no matter which credit free reports provider, organizes you information is a pretty similar and simple way.  When you view you credit report, you will find the following sections (bear in mind that the section names may vary slightly):

• Personal Profile
• Account Summary
• Public Records
• Credit Inquiries
• Account History
• Credit Score (optional)
• 100 Word Statement

Here is a quick overview of what is in each section of your credit report:

Personal Profile – this contains information like your name (and your previous names), Social Security number, address(es), and you current and previous employers.

Account Summary – this section contains summary information about your credit (open and closed accounts, credit limits, total balance of all accounts, payment history and the number of credit inquiries).

Public Records – contains negative public records that generally have to deal with court proceedings (bankruptcy, tax liens, judgements, etc).

Credit Inquiries – this section shows all the places that you have been applying for credit. 

Account History – this is the real meat of your credit report and has the extended details of all the credit accounts you ever opened.  It shows open and closed accounts with extensive detail about your payment history, balances, and the account status over the last seven years.

Credit Score – the three digit number that shows how well you have been managing you financial responsibilities.  You should not assume that a credit score automatically comes with a credit report.  Depending on the source, you may have to pay extra to get your credit score.  For the most part, the credit report providers above include a credit score with their service.