As per the guidelines of a new Federal law, every Canadian is eligible for one free credit report onlineevery year. This clause is applicable on all the three major credit agencies namely:
- Equifax
- TransUnion
- Experian
Requesting a free online credit report has become a standard practice for people applying for financial assistance. Being aware of the credit scores prepares individuals for the interest rate they might have to pay when they buy a car or a house.
A simple search on Google will return many results of sites that offer free credit reports online. However, the more popular sites are:
- www.annualcreditreport.com
- www.freecreditreport.com
- www.myfico.com
Added features: Canadian Free Credit Report Online
The mentioned sites provide only one free credit report annually and charge you for using the service one the trail period of 30 or 60 days expires. The charge varies from one provider to another. However, during the free trial, these companies offer you services like credit monitoring and email alerts on any change in the credit report.
The email alerts contain updates about:
- Any credit (hard) inquiries
- Any new derogatory information
- Many indicators of probable credit fraud
- New credit accounts
Remember that a person can inquire about his credit history as many times as he wants without dropping his credit scores. However, every time a hard inquiry is made, it decreases the credit score by as much as seven points. Rejection or a failed credit check makes it worse.
Tips: Canadian Free Credit Report Online
A person should not wait for the last day of the trial period to cancel the subscription, as many of these companies require individuals to call before they cancel the trial period. On weekends, the tele-operators do not work, and this could result in charges on your credit card.
A person should also try to inquire about the credit agencies that his lenders report to. Rather than applying to all three credit agencies, he can apply in just one and still get to know the whole credit report.
Inquire about scores as well. Some sites may not provide credit scores with the report. Therefore, rather than exhausting one free of charge opportunity that gets you a credit report without the credit score, it is better to research and then apply.