Credit bureaus seeing dollars in free reports
‘Ordered by Congress to give consumers free access to their own credit reports once a year, the nation’s three largest credit bureaus are turning that requirement into a marketing opportunity.
When the free service, www.annualcreditreport.com, is launched on Dec. 1, consumers will be offered a variety of fee-based programs.
All three companies - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union - will charge consumers extra if they want to get their credit score, a creditworthiness rating used by lenders to extend credit and set an individual’s interest rate. The price will range from $4 to $7, depending on the credit bureau.
But credit scores will be just the beginning of the for-fee offerings on the free service that will be rolled out nationally over the next 10 months, beginning on the West Coast on Dec. 1 and ending on the East Coast on Sept. 1. The free credit reports were mandated by Congress last year as a way to combat identity theft, which government statistics show has harmed more than 10 million consumers annually. By reviewing credit reports, consumers should be able to spot any suspicious activity, such as credit cards they never requested.’
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