KBomb wrote:

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Hi Ladies - I know there is a free service (government sponsored) that will gather your credit info and send you a report once a year for free... I can link to lots, and lots ... f private companies - but know there is a government site.

Thanks!!!

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Not sure what you want to use the credit report for, but if it to determine what interest rate you may get somewhere, the free report is not really going to help you.  The vast majority of lending institutions use the FICO credit score to make lending decisions (each major bureau has a different FICO score).  The free reports don't give you your FICO score and the scores that are non-fico can be radically different, because the FICO score uses more variables and is built with different data (thus it is thought to be more predictive).

Now if you want to understand your query history or something, just getting the reports from each bureau is fine... but sorry, I can't recommend a place...

Just reading in a mag today  -  www.annualcreditreport.com is absolutely the site to go to regarding the free credit report required by legislation. 

Cortney1982 wrote:

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I get my free report once a year and pay like $5 to see my score.

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Your score is different at every bureau (sometimes it can be significantly different) and the only place you can get all three FICO scores is www.myfico.com (Suze Orman is a spokesperson for this site) and unfortunately, it won't be $5.  A non-FICO score could be significantly different then the FICO as it is calculated differently. 

Sorry KBomb to hijack your thread, I just have a thing about this because I work in an industry where this really matters and there is so much mis-information out there. 

Here are two really good excerpts from Suze Orman's site/myfico on credit reports and credit scores:

Credit Scores:

About Credit Scores

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When you apply for credit whether for a credit card, a car loan, or a mortgage lenders want to know what risk they'd take by loaning money to you. FICO® scores are the credit scores most lenders use to determine your credit risk. You have three FICO scores, one for each of the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Each score is based on information the credit bureau keeps on file about you. As this information changes, your credit scores tend to change as well. Your 3 FICO scores affect both how much and what loan terms (interest rate, etc.) lenders will offer you at any given time. Taking steps to improve your FICO scores can help you qualify for better rates from lenders.

For your three FICO scores to be calculated, each of your three credit reports must contain at least one account which has been open for at least six months. In addition, each report must contain at least one account that has been updated in the past six months. This ensures that there is enough information and enough recent information in your report on which to base a FICO® score on each report.

About FICO® scores

Credit bureau scores are often called FICO scores because most credit bureau scores used in the U.S. are produced from software developed by Fair Isaac and Company. FICO scores are provided to lenders by the major credit reporting agencies.

FICO scores provide the best guide to future risk based solely on credit report data. The higher the credit score, the lower the risk. But no score says whether a specific individual will be a good or bad customer. And while many lenders use FICO scores to help them make lending decisions, each lender has its own strategy, including the level of risk it finds acceptable for a given credit product. There is no single cutoff score used by all lenders and there are many additional factors that lenders use to determine your actual interest rates. However you can now see what interest rates lenders typically offer consumers based on FICO score ranges.

Other Names for FICO Scores

FICO scores have different names at each of the credit reporting agencies. All of these scores, however, are developed using the same methods by Fair Isaac, and have been rigorously tested to ensure they provide the most accurate picture of credit risk possible using credit report data.

Credit Reporting Agency	FICO® Score
Equifax	BEACON® Score
Experian	Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model
TransUnion	EMPIRICA®

More than one credit score

In general, when people talk about "your score", they're talking about your current FICO score. However, there is no one credit score used to make decisions about you. This is true because:

• Credit bureau scores are not the only scores used.
  Many lenders use their own credit scores, which often will include the FICO score as well as other information about you.
• FICO scores are not the only credit bureau scores.
  There are other credit bureau scores, although FICO scores are by far the most commonly used. Other credit bureau scores may evaluate your credit report differently than FICO scores, and in some cases a higher score may mean more risk, not less risk as with FICO scores.
• Your credit score may be different at each of the main credit reporting agencies.
  The FICO score from each credit reporting agency considers only the data in your credit report at that agency. If your current scores from the credit reporting agencies are different, it's probably because the information those agencies have on you differs.
• Your FICO score changes over time.
  As your data changes at the credit reporting agency, so will any new credit score based on your credit report. So your FICO score from a month ago is probably not the same score a lender would get from the credit reporting agency today.

Credit Reports:

About Credit Reports

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Credit Reporting Agencies

Credit reporting agencies maintain files on millions of borrowers. Lenders making credit decisions buy credit reports on their prospects, applicants and customers from the credit reporting agencies.

Your report details your credit history as it has been reported to the credit reporting agency by lenders who have extended credit to you. Your credit report lists what types of credit you use, the length of time your accounts have been open, and whether you've paid your bills on time. It tells lenders how much credit you've used and whether you're seeking new sources of credit. It gives lenders a broader view of your credit history than do other data sources, such as a bank's own customer data.

Creating Your Credit Report

Your credit report does not really exist until you or a lender asks for it. It is then compiled by the credit reporting agency based on the information stored in that agency's file. This information is supplied by lenders, by you and by court records.

Tens of thousands of credit grantors retailers, credit card issuers, banks, finance companies, credit unions, etc. send updates to each of the credit reporting agencies, usually once a month. These updates include information about how their customers use and pay their accounts.

Your credit report reveals many aspects of your borrowing activities. All pieces of information should be considered in relationship to other pieces of information. The ability to quickly, fairly and consistently consider all this information is what makes credit scoring so useful.

Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now...