Credit can be an intimidating thing. There’s a lot to learn when it comes to the factors that contribute to maintaining credit and what it takes to build it up. Luckily, there are resources that can help boost your understanding, and there are even many free options. Whether you’re just starting on your credit journey or need more information, here are free credit resources to help you out.

A credit reporting company

Every year, you can request one free report¹ from each of the three national credit reporting companies. To order your credit report, you can do it online here or call 1-877-322-8228. When applying for your report, you need to provide your name, social security number, address and date of birth.

Chase™

Whether you’re a Chase™ customer or not, you can access their Credit Journey℠ and VantageScore® Credit Score. This service allows you to view your credit score and report free of charge. The program also offers alerts to notify you if something such as when a new inquiry into your credit is opened, a new account is opened in your name, fraud is suspected and more.

Credit freezes

If you fear your personal information and credit are in trouble, freezing your credit is an option. This usually comes with a varying cost depending on how you obtain a freeze. However, there are certain instances where you can freeze your credit for free.² Circumstances that are eligible typically vary from state to state.

Discover®

With Discover®, you can get free access to a Credit Scorecard that shares your FICO® score. Viewing your score has no effect on your credit. You don’t even have to be a Discover® customer to sign up! Your Scorecard also provides helpful information as to what helps and hurts. If you’re looking for more educational material, they also have blogs about credit basics.

The FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has plenty of helpful information about credit on their website³. You can find some tips to help improve your credit, how to report fraud, instructions on how to request credit reports and other useful resources. If you notice an error on your credit report, you can read about how to dispute it here.⁴ Even if you’re still learning the basics of credit, there is plenty of help⁵ to stay informed.

The views expressed by the articles and sites linked in this post do not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of Cash Central or Community Choice Financial® .

Sources:

¹Federal Trade Commission. (2022, Jul). Retrieved from: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports

²Akin, Jim. (2020, Oct 8). Retrieved from: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/preventing-fraud/security-freeze/

³Federal Trade Commission. (2021, Jun). Retrieved from: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/fixing-your-credit-faqs

⁴Federal Trade Commission. (2021, May). Retrieved from: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/disputing-errors-your-credit-reports

⁵Federal Trade Commission. (2021, May). Retrieved from: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-scores