There are just as many disadvantages of getting a free credit report online as there are advantages. One of the biggest disadvantages is the fact that, in order to get a free credit report online, you will likely have to pay a membership fee. You are in fact paying someone else for something that is already yours. Another distinct disadvantage is the fact that if you do pay a membership fee to receive a free credit report online, you can get a free one yearly with no strings attached. So why pay?

You can get a yearly free credit report, so there is really no need to fill out the many different forms or surveys and make your identifying information available to potential scams and frauds, just to obtain something that is supposed to be free. The information contained online is about the same as the yearly free credit report you get anyway.

Web sites will attempt to lure you to their services and from the free yearly credit report, , by offering you many different incentives. Generally, the money you pay for these incentives are just not worth it. Many people do not like the requirement of giving their credit card information for a free credit report online. They view free as something, well, free. They should not have to provide any type of credit information. Generally, this information is used to identify yourself and prove just who you are.

It is important that you weight all the pros and cons when determining if using the internet to obtain a free credit report with no strings attached is the best method for you. You have many different choices and in general, most web sites only offer a free 30-day trial, after which you must begin paying to view the credit report and use their services. If you fail to cancel, you are stuck for at least one month until you do. The yearly free credit report, no strings attached, may be the better option.