supercow

I remember you saying at some point that you use a service with monthly credit report updates and alerts. I have reason to believe someone might be trying to use my identity on applications so that would be an awesome feature.

thanks majik!

JonGTR

You want to get your reports DIRECTLY from each bureau. And when they ask you if you want to get it from another, you say no and go directly to the other site to get it. They always want to sell you something, and it's never anything of value.
www.annualcreditreport.com is the place you want to start. You are allowed to pull a report once a year for free.
This will let you know if damage was already done.

If you want to constantly MONITOR your reports for future damage, that's a different subject with other choices.

If you want scores, read the fine print for the scores you're buying. Most are not actual FICO scores.


Do you have an AMEX? If so, I love using Credit Secure. It allows daily pulling of all 3 with a fairly decent information comparison.

supercow

no amex, mainly looking for monitoring.

JonGTR

Credit Check Total is a good service that has the same layout as Credit Secure. I think it also has daily pulling. However, you're going to pay for it. $23/mo. IIRC, some people tried the service, called in before the free trial was over to cancel, and the CS agent would offer them a lower monthly subscription. Like $15/mo., which isn't bad.

Honestly, the ones I have knowledge of have daily pulling which is very useful for inquiry bumping. wink1.gif If you want a simple monitoring system, almost anything will do.

majik

I use FreeCreditReport.com (Experian) as it shows me my score as well as a report. It's free for one month, but you must cancel. You get a freebie every 12 months, as with all three reporting agencies.

supercow

jon have you used that credit check total? I'm looking for one to sign up for a few months just to see if anything fishy is going on.

thanks!

JonGTR

Yes and no. I haven't used the product by that company personally, but like I said, it looks exactly like Credit Secure which is only useable by AMEX users. What I'm saying is, it's probably the same program, just labeled under 2 different companies. I like it. But I'm only paying $13/mo. since it's through my AMEX card.
Credit Check Total is used by countless other people, which is why I recommended it.

Go to Creditboards.com for more information about credit and monitoring and pretty much anything money oriented.

majik

I've used FreeCreditReport.com the most. For me (and my father) we rarely see changes within a 6 month period of tracking. Fluctuations of a point here or there, maybe, but nothing else unless you're buying a home, a car, etc.

JonGTR

It depends on your monitoring company. Recently they've cracked down on daily monitoring. Checking the 3 bureaus costs money each time, so to check every day costs the monitoring companies tons of money to do. So now they're starting to check only bi-monthly, or less.
I know Truecredit checks Transunion everyday since they're a division of TU and it costs them nothing. But they only check Experian and Equifax like once a month since they have to pay them.

It's a huge money making scheme for everyone, and it's not about your safety.


Shit happens daily, and it happens fast. Being a month late to get an alert can be too late. That's why I use Credit Secure which allows daily pulling. And I recommended CCT because they do the same, even though they cost a bit more than other monitoring systems.

The people on Creditboards, and those who are repairing their credit use daily pullers to keep a watchful eye on Debt Collectors. You want to know the instant they pull your credit, or put a collection on it so that you can get started right away. If you catch them looking at your credit via pulls, sometimes you can fire off a letter and get rid of them before they have a chance to get on your report.
It's easier to get rid of them while they're just peeking at you, than to wait for them to be on your reports and have to delete the account.


Ugh, lots of info to share, so little time. lol

majik

Aren't you able to put a hold on your credit reports, so nobody can open an account without the hold being removed?