Know Your Score Fact Sheet
Consumers Union is fighting to give consumers access to an annual free, reliable credit score when a free credit report is obtained.
Your credit score can determine your eligibility for credit cards, home, car and student loans, and apartment rentals. It can mean the difference between a high interest rate or a lower rate. There are few, if any, 3-digit numbers that carry so much weight.
Yet you may think you know your own score, and you typically have to pay to get it. Consumers have paid about $250 million in recent years for their own credit scores and reports.
Worse, the credit score you pay for isn’t always the same one lenders and banks see to determine if you’re creditworthy. One out of five of us who buy our credit scores see a ‘meaningfully’ different score than what’s given to the lender. That’s not fair.
Federal law right now entitles you to a free credit report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) once a year, but you need to pay to see your credit score.
We think consumers shouldn’t have to pay to see a number that’s critical to their financial future.
Your credit score is key information that you need to have a complete understanding of your credit profile and it will have an important impact on the interest rate you will pay to borrow money.
Also, once you know your credit score, you can then question its accuracy in order to negotiate the best rates with lenders.
New legislation, The Fair Access to Credit Scores Act has just been introduced in Congress. A new Congressional session has just started and we’ll need your help to pass this critical legislation. We won the right to free credit reports in 2003 by flooding Washington, D.C., with requests – help us win the right to free credit scores by adding your voice now.
For more information about our campaign, visit: DefendYourDollars.org