Credit Monitoring Services

Credit monitoring services are companies that continually watch over your credit report, and promptly notify you of any changes that may affect your score. Banks, credit card companies, credit reporting agencies, and third party companies can all be providers of credit monitoring services. They can monitor any range of items on your credit report, from changes to your personal information, such as address or employers, to changes in your credit history, such as negative marks, new accounts, closed accounts, and credit inquiries.

In this world where identity theft is the number one growing crime, many people turn to credit monitoring services in order to be alerted to any unauthorized activity. If you do have your identity stolen, quick awareness to the fact is critical. Any negative marks on you credit report can dramatically effect your score. Plus, the longer it goes undisputed, the more it appears “real” in the eyes of the credit reporting agencies. Also, occasionally credit issuers make mistakes when reporting to the credit bureaus, that could do harm to your credit score. Rapid notification and repair of these issues will ensure you keep your good name in the world of lending.

On the downside, credit monitoring companies can be expensive. In fact, many of them are grossly overpriced. Some companies only monitor one bureau for your credit changes and charge substantially more than what it would cost you to pull your own report. In addition, they offer little in terms of fraud protection. By the time a negative mark has been made on your credit, the damage has already been done. However, some monitoring services do offer the additional service of identity fraud resolution.

Overall, credit monitoring services can be an added convenience to your life. They aid in early fraud detection and assure that you will obtain a regular report about your current activity. However, these companies can be costly and do not perform any services that you are not capable of doing yourself.