Pay for a cash advance is one expense, but to pay to look at your credit score is outrageous. There are many web sites which will provide access to credit scores after the credit card information has been processed. It sounds like a good deal until you forget to cancel your membership. It may take months before you remember and until then, you will have paid the fees for a service you do not use.
Many websites have names similar to the actual free site the credit bureaus offer. A consumer, who is not educated on the free site, would not know better and move forward with entering credit card information. These companies are hoping for that to happen and that you will forget to cancel your membership. It will give you access to your credit scores as promised, but the free site provided by the credit bureaus will as well.
A credit score is a guide not a guarantee or promise. The online cash advance industry knows that credit scores represent many years of managing money. it does not reflect on what is happening now which is exactly what the cash advance industry is looking for.
Each of the three credit bureaus offer one free credit score check every twelve months. If you stagger them (one every four months), you can check your report three times a year by rotating which one you pull. People put so much emphasis on credit reports that the whole picture gets overlooked.
Credit scores vary. Pull all three reports and you will find yourself with three different scores. your scores can be affected by errors, identity theft and if you had to go through a bad time. The reports are made by the creditors each month and they stay on your credit for seven years. If you had a period of time in your life where money was tight, got divorced or lost your job, future creditors will be seeing the aftermath without knowing the cause. Unfortunately, your story is not attached to the report so when a creditor looks at your history and sees unpaid debt or multiple late notices they will tend to think you are not credit worthy.
This is one reason so many people have turned to applying for cash advances and other short-term money options. Because these loans are no credit check and provide fast cash, those with a poor credit history can still find relief with struggling budgets. As horrible as these loans can be for some financial situations, they tend to get overused as the one of the only options available.
Financial vulnerability has promoted the short-term loan industry into the forefront. Applications for cash advances online and payday loans as well have increased in the past few years. Responsible lenders would not promote their loans to those who cannot afford to pay it back or to use them towards outstanding debt.