When applying for loans, mortgages, and credit cards, applicants are examined by lenders through their annual credit report. This contains all financial information about an individual’s financial capability and other personal information.
Lenders use this document to calculate your credit score, which is usually between 300 and 850. As a rule, the higher your credit score is, the lower the interest rate you'll receive when applying for loans.
What Is a Credit Report?
A credit report is a detailed breakdown of an individual’s credit history and debt accounts. This includes information about how you manage your money, where you live, where you work, and how much debt you’ve accumulated. An annual credit report is prepared by a credit bureau and is used for loan and credit card applications, as well as applications for owning things like homes and cars.
This document is prepared by credit bureaus and can usually be ordered once every 12 months, depending on the country.
Average Cost of a Credit Report Worldwide
Ordering a credit report is free once a year, but buying the release of your credit score will cost you. It costs around $15 to $20 for a copy in the United States. Credit reporting companies in the United Kingdom charge about £2 on a standard statutory credit report, but monthly subscriptions cost £14 minimum with a free 30-day trial. Meanwhile, in Canada, requesting a credit report costs $19.95 to $23.95 per month, as part of the subscription-based credit monitoring service.
In Australia, Equifax charges $4.95 for issuing 1 credit report per year to $14.95 for issuing 12 reports annually.
Credit Report Cost Breakdown
For the standard monthly subscription, credit report companies issue only 1 document per year. This already includes access to the credit score and report, monitoring, and identity theft insurance. For accredited companies like Equifax, there are no partial month refunds needed, and members can cancel their subscription anytime.
Plans such as Complete Family Plan are available, too, providing 3-bureau credit file monitoring and credit reports for two adults.
Factors Affecting the Cost of a Credit Report
In some countries, like the United States, Ireland, and Australia, a person can get a free credit report if there is information that needs to be corrected, they've been refused of credit within the last 90 days, or if they request for a report once a year.
The cost of the monthly subscription can increase if you need a credit report more than once a year. You need to upgrade to a premium plan to get more than two reports per year.
Additional Costs Associated with a Credit Report
When requesting for a credit report, additional charges may come with a monthly subscription, like automatic email alerts, ID theft insurance, and unlimited report refreshes. In addition to this, tax is also excluded from the plan.
Conclusion
Getting your credit report can help you track how you are managing your finances and find out if you are worthy to apply for a specific loan. By going to an accredited credit report company like Equifax, you can easily request for a copy of your credit report for as low as $19.95.
