Robert writes:
I never really paid much attention to my credit score until buying my first house. I noticed it was very difficult to get access to your report and always required payment of a fee. The government has passed a law requiring credit scores to provide you with a copy of your report – but not your score – free of charge, but you only get to request one every 12 months.
Anyway, I recently found out about this private firm that offers a service called Credit Karma at www.creditkarma.com
They provide you with access to all of your reports, all of your credit scores, and it is updated in real-time. It is the most comprehensive and complete service I have ever come across for your credit score information. Additionally, it is all completely free of charge!
How could this be? Well they use ad-based revenue to cover all their costs. I thought this was a pretty amazing example between private and public solutions to the same problem. The government solution is one report – score not included – per year. The market solution is unlimited, free, and real time access to every aspect of your credit imaginable!