Why Ordering Your Free Credit Reports Online is a Complete Joke

I have yet to find credit reports offered online that are easy to order and provide all the information you need.

And, this is probably going to ruffle a few feathers, but it's true...even the free reports offered on the new federally mandated website (sponsored by the three national credit reporting agencies) are a lot less useful than they could be.

Here's Why the Free Online Credit Reports Stink...

1. The authentication process is so cumbersome, time-consuming, and frustrating. Any person who values their time would quickly abandon the process. One of our editors nearly gave up 24 minutes into the process. The only reason he continued was to finish his research for this newsletter. It ended up taking him 38 minutes to download copies of his credit reports. 38 minutes. Geez!

2. The security questions are a pain. To answer your questions you must have: (1) all your credit statements in front of you; (2) all your previous addresses in front of you; or (3) a recent copy of your credit reports handy. (Kinda defeats the purpose, huh?) I understand the need to "authenticate" that I'm really Stephen Snyder-but good Lord, this isn't national security. Besides, I'm impatient.

3. The information is created for lenders; and not consumers-which means there is critical information that you're NOT SEEING. These reports don't include complete account numbers or all your credit inquiries, among other things.

4. You have to navigate through numerous sales pitches for products and services you don't need.

5. The reports can be very long. So, if this is your first time reading your credit report, make sure your printer is full of paper. For example, just one of my free online credit reports totaled 54 pages.

The Truth About Why Credit Reporting Agencies Offer Their Credit Reports Free Online

Even though federal law now says the credit reporting agencies must provide credit reports free, it says nothing about making them comprehensive or easy to get. You see, the credit reporting agencies are now using these free credit reports as bait to quickly switch you into purchasing overpriced, and often useless credit services. As you can tell, I'm not a huge fan of the free credit reports available online.

So what's the solution?

Order your free credit reports through the mail. It will take a few weeks for you to receive your free reports via U.S. mail, but you will invest only a few minutes of your time and it will be a lot less frustrating. When you've completed the form, drop it in the mail to this address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5281

You can also call to order them at: 1-877-322-8228. If you're hearing impaired, call their TDD service at: 1-877-730-4104.

Beware of All the Junk They Try to Sell You When You Order Your Free Credit Reports

When you order free credit reports online, be prepared to be bombarded with "special offers" and follow-up junk mail.

Bottom line: you don't need these special offers. The credit reporting agencies are just trying to make money off of you-especially when they're forced to give you something for free. They'll try to sell you a "Credit Ranking." You don't need to compare your credit ranking. It doesn't matter where you rank. Don't buy it!

In addition, each credit reporting agency will try to sell you a credit report monitoring service. The problem is, these services monitor only one credit report, not all three. These services are as useful as a screen door on a submarine. A credit report monitoring service is only good if it monitors all three of your credit reports.