Credit Scores with Conditions
Many websites advertising free credit scores are a way to lure you in with promises of a free score. However, to obtain this score, you are required to sign up for a trial subscription to a credit monitoring service. The problem is that if you do not cancel the subscription within a certain time frame, usually seven days, you will be charged for the subscription.
Websites Offering Free Credit Scores
In fact, there are several websites that offer free credit scores without a credit card or paid subscription. Here are some of them:
- CreditWise from Capital One offers a free credit score to all consumers. You can sign up even if you do not have a Capital One credit card. You will receive monthly updates for your VantageScore 3.0 based on your credit report from TransUnion.
- Credit Karma provides your free credit score based on your credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion. They also add your VantageScore 3.0 at no extra cost. Although you may be asked to provide your Social Security number and other identification information, you will never be asked for your credit card number. Even better, you can check your credit score every day if you wish.
- Credit Sesame aims to connect you with deals to lower your debt payments through refinancing and low-interest credit card options. As part of the personal credit management tool, the free credit score is part of the deal, and you do not need to provide your credit card information to obtain it.
- Discover offers a free credit scorecard that includes your FICO score based on your credit report information from Experian. The scorecard is updated monthly, and you do not need to be a Discover customer to sign up for it.
- Lending Tree provides a free copy of your VantageScore 3.0 and updates your score monthly. You will also be able to see the factors that affect your credit score.
Required Disclosure for Credit Scores
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to receive one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. All you have to do is request your report through the website annualcreditreport.com.
Unfortunately, this law does not provide consumers with access to their credit scores, which are not actually included in credit reports. However, banks, lenders, and credit card companies are required to provide you with a free credit score at any time they deny your application, offer you less favorable terms, or raise your rates due to your credit.
It is unfortunate that sometimes you may not receive this free credit score, even if you are denied. For example, banks are not obligated to send a credit score disclosure when they use an internal credit score, and insurance companies are not required to disclose the credit score used to determine your insurance premium. However, if you are denied credit or insurance, it does not hurt to request your credit score.
Not a FICO Score
Except for the credit scorecard from Discover, the downside of free credit scores is that the scores provided are likely not FICO scores, which is the score used by most lenders. Credit Karma, CreditWise, and Credit Sesame all provide your credit score based on the credit bureau version of your report, which is known as a FAKO score. These scores may vary from each other and usually differ from your FICO score.
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You receive a free FICO score with a credit score disclosure, but only if the bank used your FICO score in making its decision. Otherwise, you will receive another score, but it will be the actual score used by the bank, rather than an educational score.
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/free-credit-score-no-credit-card-960668
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