Never Use Third Parties To Check Credit Reports
Another sure way to accidentally lower your credit rating is to hire a third party to inquire about your credit reports for you. All these companies will manage to do is put a black mark on your report as their procurement of your report counts as a hard credit inquiry.
However if you acquire your credit report on your own directly from Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, your FICO scores will not be lowered. Also the report that you receive directly from the credit reporting bureau is likely to be much more accurate then one you receive online from a third party source.
The only third party source that you can order your FICO credit scores online is through www.myfico.com.
Yet another hazard of using a third party to pull your credit report is that you might not be sent your FICO scores. Both Experion and TransAmerica have designed documents called consumer credit reports that do not contain the FICO scores that lenders see but instead information that is artfully designed to make you purchase more credit.
Finally, if you use a third party to check your credit report it is going to cost you money. The best thing you can do is take advantage of the free FICO scores that you are entitled to from each of the credit bureaus as was mandated by the Fair Credit Act of 2003.