Effective in April 1, Credit Card Act of 2009 rules that companies that claim to offer you a free credit report have to disclose that what they’re offering isn’t really free.
Under the new rules, any site that advertise free credit reports must include a prominent disclosure notice across the top of each page that mentions the free report, stating
“The notice is required by law and you can read more at FTC.gov. Also: You have the right to a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, or by calling 877-322-8228, the only authorized source under federal law.”
Web sites that advertise free credit reports but require consumers to sign up for monthly credit monitoring subscriptions, or other services in exchange for the report, will now have to change their marketing message.
This is to avoid the confusion between these “free” offers that come with strings attached AND the government’s AnnualCreditReport.com where you’re entitled to one free credit report per year without any string attached whatsoever.
Free Credit Report isn’t Your Credit Score
While AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to give out annual free credit reports, this free credit report is NOT your credit score or FICO score that creditors or lenders used to gauge your creditworthiness.
Your credit report is only a rundown of your personal information, credit accounts, current obligations, credit inquiries and your payment history. It is based on these information your score is computed.
To view the actual score that the lenders are seeing, get your score (plus 3 in 1 credit report) from freecreditscore.com for a free trial.