Every time I see “Free Credit Offer” I wonder is it really free and a good idea. I thought that I would ask my good friend Derrick Evans at www.PerfectCredentials.com. You can reach his office at 877-260-1961. They are locally based in San Diego.
Derrick sent me the following regarding my question:
Why is it every time I go to a website that offers a “free credit report”, it only takes about two screens before they ask for a credit card number? Hard to believe these sites exist with this reality, but the Credit Bureaus get away with a LOT worse, trust me.
Ultimately, these free credit report websites are created by the Credit Bureaus in an attempt to sell a monthly credit-monitoring product. The charge for this product is a never-ending $15/month or so. They will email you when things change on your credit report, but without guidance, it is tough for most Consumers to know how to interpret the information or use it to their advantage. Your best bet is to stay as far away from anything involving the Credit Bureaus as possible.
A good way to get started with that is to opt-out of allowing them to sell your personal information to the highest bidder by going HERE. You can opt yourself out at this site for five years. If you want to permanently opt-out of allowing your information to be sold by the Credit Bureaus, you have to mail your request in. I suggest doing the five year opt-out right now and mail the request as soon as you can. The best way to keep an eye on your Credit Score is to take a look at your report with a credit professional every 6 months or so.
You can get a truly free credit report by calling a local mortgage company. After you get your free three-bureau report from them, call one of our Credit Advisors and have them go over it with you for free. This is a fantastic service to take advantage of… If you want more money saving tips, go to www.SaveMoney.com.
If you are in the market to purchase a home contact a lender to determine what your FICO scores are and if there are any issues that need to be dealt with. The earlier you do this the better since there may be an error on your report.
One of the five most important tips on a successful purchase offer is a good Lender Approval Letter. For more information see a recent post on making a successful offer.
