Many people ask, “Where can I get my credit score?” or “Can I get it online right now?” With a legitimate credit monitoring service, such as the one offered by Experian, you can check it as often as you need. You’ll be able to view all three reports and scores right from the Experian Identity Works user portal. Not all creditors report to the same bureau(s), so each report and score will be a bit different (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).
As long as you pull your credit reports and not a third party, you can check as often as you like. However, third parties requesting to view your reports usually affect the score – especially if you’ve been applying for new lines of credit or loans. If you seem “desperate” in your attempts to obtain more lines of credit, it can cause damage to your creditworthiness.
Some are concerned about potential fraud when they search for “get my credit score.” However, looking over the reports regularly is a smart idea in this day and age due to all of the identity theft and fraud going around. Plus, don’t forget about the Equifax breach from 5 or so years back. If your information was compromised in any way, who knows how much of your private details are out there on the black market.
“Get My Credit Score” By Reading Reports
If your credit reports are a mess and things look pretty bad, sit may be time to lock the reports for a while. Freezing them means that nobody will be able to view them, do anything with them, or try to open up accounts in your name – not even you. When requesting that Experian lock your report through them, they will notify TransUnion and Equifax as well. In addition, you will receive real-time alerts on any attempted inquiries.
What parts of your credit reports are monitored? This question is the next question after “How can I get my credit score?” Factors that show up on the reports and affect the score include new credit inquiries, credit utilization, balance changes, on-time payments, late payments, dormant accounts, and so on. Any item that looks suspicious or inaccurate to you when going over your reports might be removable. Learn how to dispute those items and potentially have them removed, either on your own or through a credit repair service.
The amount of service and protection you get depends on which version of Experian Identity Works you subscribe to. Get either the Basic version or the Premium. So, the answer to “How can I get my credit score?” is to sign up and decide which level of service you require.