Those freaking freecreditreport.com jingles drive me nuts. Mainly because they’re just bullshit. FreeCreditReport.com is not free. It’s just a 7 day trial with Experian — one of the three main credit reporting companies. After that you’re billed just like you ordered the credit report directly from Experian.

Federal law allows you to receive an actual free credit report from each of the companies. All you have to do is visit annualcreditreport.com.

As I recall, the user experience of annualcreditreport.com is pretty lousy but in the end you do get a no-strings-attached free (as in beer) credit report from the major players.

Do that. Avoid the bullshit of freecreditreport.com.