Are you considering starting the process of credit repair because you are concerned about your credit status? So what’s the first step? Getting hold of a copy of your personal credit report is in fact one of the best places to start. But how do you get a copy of your credit report? You’ve seen a number of offers on the internet offering free credit reports. You are tempted to take advantage, but are they a simple as that?
The straightforward answer to this question is yes, and no. There are certainly some vital aspects of the offer that you should know. The best course of action is to be careful and only proceed when you fully appreciate what the company is indeed offering in return for your interaction. As you probably suspected, the companies making these offers are not doing so out of a sense of community spirit.
To be blunt, they want your money. The “free” offer is not quite so simple to take advantage of as it initially appears. The key is to read the fine print before you start the process. The normal process in taking advantage of these offers of a free credit report is to provide certain personal details and information that looks and feels like you are in fact being questioned to pay for something. This is because the making the offer is attempting to get you to sign up to a credit report subscription account.
The free credit report offer is simply a way to tempt you in. What you are signing up to is a free trial period, after which the subscription kicks in and you start to pay. Being slightly cynical, the company is hoping is that you forget to cancel the subscription arrangement once the initial trial period has elapsed.
There is really quite a simple method of obtaining an up-to-date copy of your credit report. Yes it will cost you, but you may be surprised that the fee is in fact very small. You can get hold of your report straight from the credit reference agencies who are bound by law to provide it to you upon request. For the very small fee you can achieve the same outcome as you would get from the free offers, but you take none of the risks associated with signing up for a subscription account many of which are very expensive.
In conclucion, if you have a habit of forgetting to do things at certain times then the best advice would be to request a copy of your credit report directly from the credit reference agencies. Should you choose that you would still prefer to take advantage of the offer for the free credit report, then I recommend as soon as you have received your report that you immediately cancel the subscription arrangement that you have signed, lest you forget to do so later.