How to Get Free Credit Reports From TrueCredit (and How to Cancel)
It’s common knowledge by now that you can access your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com. But what if you’ve used those up and still need access to your credit report?
Well, some states require the credit bureaus to provide more than just the minimum one report for free per year. In our case, we’re guaranteed two reports per year from each bureau. Unfortunately, the credit bureaus typically fulfill these “extra” requests by mailing a hard copy, which isn’t much help if you need it fast.
An alternative that I recently ran across is TransUnion’s TrueCredit service, which is a credit monitoring and credit protection service. While their service typically costs $14.95/month, they have an introductory offer that gives you 30 days for free.
The beauty of this offer is that it gives you unlimited access to all three of your credit reports. The downside is that it auto-renews, and you have to call in to cancel.
I actually ended up signing up with TrueCredit awhile back because we were “accidentally” sent to collections over a supposedly unpaid medical bill that had, in fact, been paid. I wanted to keep tabs on our credit records while the saga unfolded, so a month of free, unlimited access to all three reports was just what the doctor ordered.
As with any free offer, the key is remembering to cancel. Fortunately, it was pretty straightforward in this case. Here’s a quick rundown of how to navigate the cancellation process:
(1) Call TrueCredit at 1-800-493-2392
(They’re only available Mon-Thurs, 8AM-Midnight; Fri/Sat, 8AM-8PM Eastern time.)
(2) Press ‘1′ for English, then ‘2′ for cancelling service
(3) Wait while you’re being transferred (I was disconnected once at this point)
(4) Tell them that you want to cancel and wade through their pleas to keep you as a customer
That’s it.
While they do their best to upsell you, TrueCredit can actually be quite useful under certain circumstances. In my case, it was well worth the trouble to have unlimited access to my credit reports. That being said, I can’t imagine paying $14.95/month on an ongoing basis for this sort of thing.
Get via RSS
I did something similar once that came from Citi. I just canceled before the trial was over and it went pretty well.
I’d probably do it again if the situation called for it.
By the way, how can I find out if my state mandates more than one free report a year?
Thanks
Comment by EN — Jul 2nd 2008 @ 9:03 pmI would not recommend going to TrueCredit and going through the hassel of what’s been described above. Instead consumers should do a little research on The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) which gives all U.S citizens the right to request one free copy of their credit report from each of the Big Three credit reporting agencies every year. True Credit represents 1 of the big 3. In fact to make it easy, I suggest you call (877) 322-8228, or go snail mail to the following address:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
Comment by Billy Blade — Jul 14th 2008 @ 11:05 amP.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Billy: I suggested that myself right there in the post. But if you’ve already used up your free reports, this is a good way to get them. Cancellation was quite easy, and even though TrueCredit is owned by TransUnion, they offer access to all three reports.