Is it just me, or have people got far more interested in their credit scores as of late? Perhaps I was oblivious before, but I feel like we're being bombarded with information (and misinformation) on how important credit scores are nowadays. And maybe that just means they're getting their due. To affecting our interest rates on loans, abilities to open new lines of credit, getting a job and dating prospects, credit scores can have a pretty major impact on your finances...and uh...love life as well apparently. So, a natural question to ask would be: How do I get my credit score and report, preferably for free?
Before you stop reading this post and go to that website that heavily advertised free credit reports but actually charged $14.95 monthly fees, bear with me for a few more minutes. Optimally, we would want a service that does the following:
- Provides a free credit score and report for free, which means no hidden fees down the road.
- Updates us at regular intervals with our report and score that are given to us without having to lift a finger.
- Does not prevent us from getting a free score or report immediately from a credit reporting company.
You probably guessed it by now, Quizzle can do all those things. Let's break them down:
1. Provides a free credit score and report for free.
After signing up, Quizzle will do a soft pull of your credit report. This means that the request for information will not have an effect on your credit score. In this report, you'll get a summary of your open credit accounts (e.g. credit cards, loans), credit inquiries you've made recently1 and any public records. Although the layout of the report may not be in a way that you're used to, Quizzle assures you that all the information provided is everything that's include in your credit report.
The best part, this is all free! Unlike other sites that provide you a credit report without a fee initially and then enroll you in a program where they charge you to monitor your credit, Quizzle won't charge you ever to use their most basic package. In fact, they don't even ask for any credit card information from you.
2. Updates us at regular intervals with our report and score.
Every 6 months, Quizzle will do another soft pull on your credit report and update your information and e-mail you an update. Excellent for people who want to stay on top of their score and report but can't remember to check themselves.
3. Does not prevent us from getting a free score or report immediately from a credit reporting company.
You may have heard that each credit reporting agency is required to provide a free credit report every 12 months. Not only are these reports important for informational reasons, they are also frequently requested for by people renting apartments.
One of my initial concerns with Quizzle was that signing up for their service would mean I wouldn't be able to request Experian reports independently. However, a very customer service representative at Quizzle informed me that being signed up for the Quizzle service does not exclude me from receiving credit reports through Experian. Excellent!
Bonus: Tools to Improve your Credit Score.
In addition to Quizzle's free plan where you get a free report and score every sixth months, you can also sign up for their more premium packages, that contain tools such as a credit analysis, timeline, comparison, monitoring and $1 million of identity theft protection. These plans vary in cost, from $7-25 a month. I haven't signed up for any of these yet as I don't think I need them at this point in my life, but they could definitely be useful down the road, for example, helping me improve my credit before I buy my first house. Have you used any of Quizzle's premium plans? Leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Overall
Quizzle's free plan is a great improvement on other methods of monitoring your credit report and score. It provides all the information for free without impacting your credit score and automatically updates your information every six months. Additionally, you don't have to worry about requesting your free score through Experian itself if you're signed up for Quizzle because you can do that through them as well whenever you want.
I've decided that my green thumbs are kind of tacky, but know if I were will still handing them out willy nilly, Quizzle would certainly get one!
The best part, this is all free! Unlike other sites that provide you a credit report without a fee initially and then enroll you in a program where they charge you to monitor your credit, Quizzle won't charge you ever to use their most basic package. In fact, they don't even ask for any credit card information from you.
2. Updates us at regular intervals with our report and score.
Every 6 months, Quizzle will do another soft pull on your credit report and update your information and e-mail you an update. Excellent for people who want to stay on top of their score and report but can't remember to check themselves.
3. Does not prevent us from getting a free score or report immediately from a credit reporting company.
You may have heard that each credit reporting agency is required to provide a free credit report every 12 months. Not only are these reports important for informational reasons, they are also frequently requested for by people renting apartments.
One of my initial concerns with Quizzle was that signing up for their service would mean I wouldn't be able to request Experian reports independently. However, a very customer service representative at Quizzle informed me that being signed up for the Quizzle service does not exclude me from receiving credit reports through Experian. Excellent!
Bonus: Tools to Improve your Credit Score.
In addition to Quizzle's free plan where you get a free report and score every sixth months, you can also sign up for their more premium packages, that contain tools such as a credit analysis, timeline, comparison, monitoring and $1 million of identity theft protection. These plans vary in cost, from $7-25 a month. I haven't signed up for any of these yet as I don't think I need them at this point in my life, but they could definitely be useful down the road, for example, helping me improve my credit before I buy my first house. Have you used any of Quizzle's premium plans? Leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Overall
Quizzle's free plan is a great improvement on other methods of monitoring your credit report and score. It provides all the information for free without impacting your credit score and automatically updates your information every six months. Additionally, you don't have to worry about requesting your free score through Experian itself if you're signed up for Quizzle because you can do that through them as well whenever you want.
I've decided that my green thumbs are kind of tacky, but know if I were will still handing them out willy nilly, Quizzle would certainly get one!
1. I think it displays credit inquiries you've made in the past two years but I'm not completely sure as it isn't specified on the site.
