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No score with free credit report
You’ll have to pay for that
Congress has mandated that the credit bureaus make copies of credit reports available for free to consumers. But there are restrictions, and the FICO score is not included. Why not?
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Your credit score has value and the bureaus want to sell it to you
Last year, at the urging of Congress, the three main credit bureaus, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax, put a Website online that allows U.S. consumers to obtain a copy of their credit reports for free. The law permits one free report per customer per bureau per year. A savvy consumer who wants to keep a close watch on his or her record can order one every three months, each from a different bureau, and stay on top of things.
The system has worked fairly well since going online in late 2004, and now the entire country is eligible for the service. Many people are surprised, however, to discover that the free credit report they receive does not include their credit score. The score, also known as the FICO score, is a three digit number between 300 and 850 that represents a distillation of a borrower’s credit worthiness. It’s a nice, tidy, convenient tool that lenders can use to judge whether or not someone is likely to repay a loan. Full reports are useful, too, but many lenders just take a quick look at the score and make their decisions based on that figure. And yet, the free reports do not include the score. Why not?
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The credit bureaus earn their living by selling financial information about American consumers. They were understandably upset when Congress mandated that they provide this information, even on a limited basis, for free. What’s the point of trying to sell information if the Government is forcing you to give it away? On the other hand, consumers were upset at having to pay for information about themselves. After all, the argument goes, consumers don’t have to pay for copies of their medical records, so why pay for copies of their financial records?
Congress and the credit bureaus reached a compromise. The bureaus would offer information, for free, to consumers on a limited basis, allowing consumers to obtain one report per year from each bureau. That report, however, would not include the all-important credit score. If consumers want to obtain that figure, they would have to purchase a copy of their report from the bureaus. It should be noted, however, that consumers can still obtain this information for free if they have recently been turned down for a loan or credit application.
The system isn’t perfect, but it is, on the whole, a fair compromise. Consumers are able to obtain an overview of their financial situations from the bureaus at no charge, while the bureaus’ ability to sell information has not been compromised. Some consumers are continuing to grumble, but at the moment this is the best solution available.
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