Buy a Credit Report? Is this really necessary?

It is not always necessary to buy a credit report. Often you get convinced that you need to do this even though the government allows you a credit report once a year.

It may be necessary to purchase services pertaining to ongoing monitoring services. However, also remember there are instances when you can obtain your credit report for free. Instances in which you may be allowed to do this include the following:

  • When you think your personal information has been tempered with
  • When you notice an unauthorized charge on a bill or on your financial reports
  • If there is an instance in which you think you are being billed by a fraudulent collection agency
  • Any time or any reason once a year if you still have not requested a copy
  • When you are denied bank financing, a credit card, or other loans
  • If you have become a victim of identity theft
  • If you have been denied employment
  • If you were turned down when applying for insurance
  • If you are unemployed and have been looking for work

Usually there are stipulations regarding the seeking of a credit report. Often for reason of denial of financing or for denial of employment or being turned down for a job you have to request your credit report within 60 days.

The obvious exception would be is if you are paying for specialized services for which you can receive your credit report usually for any reason. Even then you may have to learn the guidelines pertaining to this.

In any case, make sure you only buy a credit report only if you absolutely have to. Otherwise, you can report fraud and have alerts put on your credit report in the event you have been financially victimized. The same applies if your identity has been stolen.

Precautions to Take

There are quite a few honest people out there that can help you with any aspect of obtaining information about your financial history. However, you still need to be very careful.

For instance, you should never send your information for further review if the server used is not secure. It should be encrypted especially if you are revealing some personal info such as your driver’s license or credit card number, your birth date, your social security number, or similar sensitive information.

It can be way too easy to fall prey to a webmaster who may take advantage of you. Therefore, one other precaution you can take is to verify the name of the website offering special services to you.

You may also want to review information provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act as well as documentation related to buyer’s rights and responsibilities. You can also verify the existence of a specific company who offers the opportunity to buy a credit report by consult BBB or the FTC.