Question: What is a legitimate and free site to go to for obtaining individual credit report? Hal, Minneapolis, MN

Answer: By federal law, you can get a copy of your report from each of the major credit reporting bureau’s for free once a year. There is only one authorized provider of the service, AnnualCreditReport.com. In other words, ignore TV ads, email offers, and online search results that come up with a different provider offering “free” credit reports.

They’re trolling to sell services for a fee. It’s a good idea to set it up so that you get one report every several months. It makes it easier to monitor your credit throughout the year. But you can get all three reports at once if you want.

You have the right to get a for a free report if you’ve been denied a loan.