February 21, 2008

• so who's going to be the guinea pig/canary in the coalmine? or have you tried the link, and it is on the up and up, goofyfoot? i looked at it, but it asks for an awful lot of personal information that i don't like to give out casually...
• Yes, I am also afraid to click the links.
• I'll back goofyfoot up on this one. It's true! I recently heard about this somewhere, but I can't recall where. (Mythbusters? That's about the only non-cartoon, non-Animal-Planet show that I watch.) The FTC grants everyone one free credit check per year. All those other "free credit report" guys are just leeches. (The FTC isn't too fond of them, either.) Stick with the ftc.gov domain and you're golden.
• Ach, this is driving me nuts! I saw it mentioned recently - within the last week or so - but I can't for the life of me remember where. I must have been flipping through the channels. (Unless it's a topic that's come up in an episode of Dr. Who season 3.)
• ok, i played canary. It seems fine, my credit is in surprisingly good standing, now let's see if i get any attacks from entering all that info...
• Yeah, I think the Daleks in Manhatten check their credit report as some point, don't they?
• "The AnnualCreditReport.com website is only accessible through ISPs (Internet Service Providers) located within the United States and its territories." Because...?
• Banker coming through! I did it several months ago. It's fine. Just don't enter a credit card number, and you're ok. It's legit.
• P.S. May not apply in all states. Lemme do some checking.
• Because.... Canadians are cold-blooded walrus bacon eaters who must be stopped, eh?
• I think that's "walrus CANADIAN bacon eaters..."
• Martha: "You're the Doctor!" Dr. Who: "No I'm not! I'm a school headmaster, with a credit score of 617! I checked that through the FTC's website, you know."
• The problem is, I always buy my walrus Canadian bacon with my credit card (ditto my otter bile), and so the credit report is of great concern to me.
• It's true. I just did this a few days ago. This is the only legit way to get your annual free credit report. (Unless you get turned down for something, in which case you're entitled to find out why, I believe.) However, they will only show you your report, not your credit score...if you want to find out your actual score, you have to pay, on all three sites. It's not much, though. I think each site charges less than $10. And the score will be different on each site, even if your info is the same on each one. interestingly, onne of them told me I had problems because I had too many credit inquiries...even though it only showed I had one in the last two years, which is how long they track it.
• Sigh...one, not onne. Feh!* *Jewish for "Meh!"
• Can't you keep track of your Loonies with Canuckistan Express? Never leave your abode without it!
• I should have said that yes, I've done this. My post was inspired by the fact that it astounds and infuriates me that credit reports are offered as tho they're hard to get. ". . .and you only need to sign up for our FREEEE (for $$$) to get your FREEEE report!" The first link in the FPP is from the US Federal Trade Commission. "As mandated by Congress in the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report, at their request, from each of the three companies once every 12 months." One can call the number in the FPP if you're not happy about entering info on the web. This is a very responsible act on one's own financial behalf. It's of a piece with:
  1. Never clicking on links in your e-mail from a bank, PayPal, or similar [always go to the main site from your browser];
  2. Completely destroy credit card checks and "pre-authorized" credit card applications you receive in the mail. I collect all of mine in a bag until I have an opportunity to burn them;
  3. Never throw anything with identifying information away without tearing it up into tiny pieces, and then, throwing the pieces into different garbage cans;
  4. Never give your social security number, or equivalent, out, without first asking, "Is there any way I can use another unique identifier?" [I worked in a video store that asked for Social Security numbers, and customers, incredibly, gave them out.]
• BUT HOW MUCH DOES IT COST
• each report was free, and i paid Experian $6 for my Vantage credit score.
• middleclasstool: As stated in the FPP and within this here thread: not a damn thing. It's free. That's the point.
• Yeah, was a joke. The word "free" appears five times in your post, often in caps. Don't mind me. :)
• Irritated by the freecreditreport.com ads? Think your hateful thoughts in the general direction of jingle writer David Muhlenfeld. And French-Canadian actor Eric Violette, to a lesser degree.