Credit Report Reviews & Comparison

Editor's Note:

As a special offer CreditReport.com is offering a $5 Amazon.com gift card, awarded immediately upon completion of enrolment to their credit monitoring services.

Summary

CreditReport.com is a credit report company that is powered by one of the three major credit report bureaus; Experian. If you have been searching for cheap credit reports and scores in their most basic form look no further, but be aware that you may quickly find there is more to come when you stumble across their extensive credit monitoring services. You can gain access to all of the exclusive features and information that they offer for 7 days as part of a $1 fee offer, with a monthly charge of $24.95 if you wish to stay on.

Overview of Pricing

If you want to gain access to a multitude of credit monitoring services for all of your financial needs, CreditReport.com may just be the service provider for you. As they are powered by Experian you will get your Experian based Credit Scores as standard, but you will be privy to your Credit Reports from all three bureaus when you sign up. You will also receive 30 day unlimited access to your Credit Reports for your one off payment of $1, too. For $24.95 a month thereafter, why not?

Just one of the many credit report service providers from Experian, CreditReport.com is built to offer you cheap credit reports and credit scores as part of their larger credit monitoring services. You might find that these services are limited compared to some of the other major credit report agencies on the net, but sometimes basic and affordable are all you're really looking for. But is that really what you're going to get? There are a lot of negative reviews to be found that debate the real costs of Credit Report.com so let's take a look to see exactly what they offer you, in order to get you the deal that you really need.

What to Expect From CreditReport.com

CreditReport.com is one of those less-is-more credit report service providers who actually pack a real punch behind the scenes. They excel at credit monitoring above all other services in the typical industry inventory. They monitor your credit reports from all three major credit agencies, alert you immediately of any out-of-the-ordinary and significant changes to your financial data; which includes the opening of new accounts in your name, unusual late payments and even the occurrence of new inquiries. Each of these alerts are easy to view from your online account, but can be sent to you via email so that you don't have to log into the website if you don't need to. In addition to email notifications you can even set up text message alerts to keep you up to date, which may come in useful if you're going to be away from the internet for any length of time.

In short, all of these different methods of notification make sure that you know immediately if someone is attempting to, or has been successful in, stealing your identity. In less dire circumstances you'll also know if there's an error on your report which you can then rectify before any major damage is done. At the end of each month you'll also receive a credit statement which details all of the activity on your financial accounts for the past 30 days.

Identity Theft Protection and Tools

Not only does CreditReport.com offer you cheap credit reports and credit monitoring, but they also provide you with a variety of informative articles that are designed to help you to learn about how to improve your overall credit score. With helpful hints, tips and insights into protecting yourself against identity theft and much more, you can really get to know your oats. Of course this may not be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing the right credit report company for you, but simply having easy access to this wealth of information- especially from those who are in the know- can make a big difference to your financial habits.

Features and Highlights

Here is a quick rundown of all of the benefits that you can enjoy when you sign-up to CreditReport.com:

• Daily monitoring of your Credit Report
• Credit Report updates From all 3 major companies
• 30 Day unlimited access to your Credit Report
• Email and text alerts
• Credit Score Estimator
• 30 day credit activity statement

The Catch:

It seems that CreditReport.com has a few catches up its sleeve that could leave you wishing you'd gone elsewhere...

Sign Up Issues

With CreditReport.com your credit scores are free, but to view your credit reports from all three major providers you have to pay a $1 fee. Catch one is that, once you pay this fee, you get automatically enrolled into a one week trial for the full credit monitoring services. Without any prior warning you will get charged the standard monthly fee if you don't cancel the account you inadvertently set up, once the trial period runs out.

Membership Cancellation

Catch two is that you need to be aware that you can only cancel this membership by phone as there is no option to cancel online. In other words, be prepared to spend some extra time out to hear a host of one-time-only offers when you speak to an advisor. With this catch taken into account; if you do cancel your account within the correct time frame you will only pay the initial $1 fee.

The Real Deal

Then there's catch three. It is important to note that, because Experian owns CreditReport.com, the credit score that you get alongside your credit report is really the Experian's PLUS score. This means that it is simply an estimation of your credit score as it is NOT the more commonly used FICO score. The PLUS score will give you a rough idea of your creditworthiness, but it is unlikely to be the same score that lenders will use to check your financial status. This won't pose a problem if you're just curious to know where you stand, or even if you do want your credit monitored, but it is definitely a factor to consider when you are looking for the right services for you.

Pricing Concerns

CreditReport.com charges a flat fate of $24.95 per month which is among the most expensive in the industry, but you do get high-quality services for your money. If you bear in mind that some other major credit report companies charge nearly $40 to give you the standard 3 company credit report updates, it's all about balancing out what you need from your credit report monitoring provider.

How is the Customer Service?

You can simply visit the 'contact us' page at CreditReport.com to find the details for their toll-free phone line, email address and postal address. There is a small FAQ section there that might be able to answer your basic questions before you need to actually contact the customer service team, too. They even offer you important information on who to contact and how should you have a dispute regarding your credit report status.

Overall

CreditReport.com may offer you a lot more than you first thought. Because you get automatically signed up for their full services upon the purchase of a credit report you won't be able to simply stop by, get what you want and go. Of course there is a way to get just your standard credit report, but this will be via the complicated cancellation process. If you are confident that you can pay the $1 charge and then cancel your contract in time, you will get your standard 3 company credit report without all of the extras. This is risky though, so it certainly may be easier to get a straight credit report elsewhere.

There does seem to be a lot of double-talk and hidden agendas here so it may be worth your while to shop around before you decide to commit to CreditReport.com.