Almost ten years ago, I was looking to buy a new home. A builder was advertising a no down-payment mortgage. With my permission, he pulled a copy of my credit report and told me that I had problems. I knew that I was entitled to a free credit report. Without a credit card, I began searching on-line for a source. The builder told me that the credit bureau was in town and that I could get a free credit report without a credit card if I went directly to the credit bureau. I could not even find the address.

For your information, if you are ever denied credit. The lender is required to provide you with the name and address of the credit bureau which provided them with the information they used in reviewing your application. You are entitled to a free credit report, without a credit card, within 60 days of the denied application.

This builder was a little strange. He printed out a copy and waved it in front of my face, telling me that he was not supposed to even let me see the report. He told me that in a couple of years, I might be able to qualify for his program. I had no idea what information he was talking about. I had owned and recently sold my own home because I had moved to a new city. I decided to rent for a while, just in case I did not like the new town. I did not have an active credit card, because I do not like credit cards. They sometimes get me into trouble. But, I was sure that this alone was not reason to refuse me into his no down payment program. So, my search began for a free credit report without a credit card. The builder said that I should be able to get one on-line, but that I would probably have to pay a fee. This made no sense to me, because I knew that I was entitled to a free copy.

I found a site that offered a free credit report without a credit card. They said they would send me my free credit report in the mail in a couple of weeks. My free credit report without a credit card turned out to be a magazine. The title was My Free Credit Report. This was my free copy, but they wanted me to know that subscribing was easy. I would be billed in three easy installments. I think that at this point, I gave up looking for a free credit report without a credit card. Having a case of sour grapes, I decided that I was not ready to buy a new house anyway.

Today, because of a recently enacted law, commonly called the FACT act, consumers can view and print a free credit report without a credit card, on-line, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The website was created by the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. The website was created to make it easier for people like me to find their free credit report without a credit card. Actually, it was created to make it easier for anyone to access the information stored on their credit reports. You are entitled to a free credit report without a credit card once in a 12 month period, if you have been denied credit within the past 60 days, if you are unemployed and planning to look for a job within the next 90 days and for various other reasons. The website address is www.annualcreditreport.com. It will come up if you type in free credit report into a web search engine, but other offers and services will pop up as well. If you type in free credit report without a credit card, it will not show up on the first page at all. Misspellings of the website address are being used by companies to attract customers to the services they offer. In order to avoid an experience like mine, you can type the website address correctly or access it from the Federal Trade Commissions official consumer credit website. Hope this information makes your search for a free credit report without a credit card a little easier.