Introduction
The prime factor in determining whether or not you will get a loan or a certain interest rate is your credit score. The higher this number is, the more likely it is that you will actually be able to get the loan. For this reason, you may want to get a free credit check before you apply for a loan. This can help you to avoid negatively impacting your credit score number by filling out multiple applications since these will drag that number down. So, with this information in mind, here is what you need to know about how you can get a free credit check.
Step 1
Whenever you are considering a loan you should get a free credit check before you contact the potential lender. Talk to them about the loan’s terms. Ask about what type of credit score you are going to need in order to be able to get approval for the loan. Have the potential lender run your credit only if you agree with the loan’s terms. In order to do this you will have to give the associate your personal information including your name, phone number, address, Social Security number and any other pertinent information.
Step 2
Once the associate runs your free credit check and gets your score back you will want to talk to the associate about the information that he receives. The associate may not offer this information up freely but you are allowed to know about what it says. Therefore, if you aren’t told straight up what your credit score is, make sure that you ask.
Step 3
You can order your free credit check directly from the credit bureau if the associate doesn’t give you the information or if you don’t plan to apply for credit. The 3 major credit bureaus have to give you a free 30-day trial so that you can view your credit score online. Simply give them your name, email address and personal information (i.e. address, Social Security number, birth date). They will require you to give them a credit card in order to get a free credit check but you can cancel it within 30 days and it will be free.
Step 4
Make sure that when you get a free credit check you view your credit score information from all 3 of the major credit bureaus. You should also print the information out from your free credit check and store it in a safe location so that you will be able to refer to it in the future. Keep in mind that this information will change though depending upon your finances so it is only good as a future guide.
Step 5
Make sure that you cancel your account with Equifax after you get your free credit check and before the free 30-day trial is up so that you won’t be charged. To do this, simply sign into your account and choose the option that will allow you to cancel your subscription. If you fail to cancel this credit score monitoring subscription, your credit card will be charged.
Tips
As of 2011 neither Experian nor TransUnion allowed you to view your score for free.
Sources and Citations
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