Benefits of credit monitoring?

[perfectionj]

Can anyone explain me benefits of credit monitoring?

[bjl584]

Is there something specific that you are trying to figure out?

You have asked multiple questions concerning credit, credit scores, and raising credit limits. Several people have chimed in with answers and advise, but you keep asking the same questions.

If you have some specific issue by all means post it so we can have a look and help.

But, if you keep spamming the forums with these questions, then I'm going to delete all your posts.

Thanks.

[Petunia 100]

Can anyone explain me benefits of credit monitoring?

Yes. If you sell credit monitoring, the benefit is you receive revenue.

If you are buying credit monitoring, then I can't think of a single benefit.

Order a free credit report every 4 months. Review it. Dispute any inaccuracies. There, your credit is monitored.

[chrisburke21]

Why don't you monitor your own credit using annualcreditreport (this is a dot com). If you think your identity has been compromised then look at ftc.gov and look up identity theft to see what steps you can take.

[ShawnaC123]

Yes. If you sell credit monitoring, the benefit is you receive revenue.

If you are buying credit monitoring, then I can't think of a single benefit.

Order a free credit report every 4 months. Review it. Dispute any inaccuracies. There, your credit is monitored.

A lot of damage can be done in the four months between report checks. If someone steals your identity they could run up hundreds of thousands in debts in that time. Also not everything will report to all three bureaus, so you may miss something for close to a year.

I see a lot of benefit in credit monitoring if you get a service that pulls all three reports at least once a month.

[Petunia 100]

A lot of damage can be done in the four months between report checks. If someone steals your identity they could run up hundreds of thousands in debts in that time. Also not everything will report to all three bureaus, so you may miss something for close to a year.

I see a lot of benefit in credit monitoring if you get a service that pulls all three reports at least once a month.

If someone steals your indentity, you will have to go through a process to strighten out the matter. The process will be the same irrespective of how much fraudulent debt has been run up.

I continue to think that credit monitoring is a waste of money.

[neatdesign]

• Accuracy – If you have been notified of several changes in your credit score, but they do not make sense to you, you can check your credit report immediately to check for the inaccuracies. If there are any, report them immediately, to prevent further damage.

You can set up fraud alerts on your credit profiles with each credit bureau for free. That way you're getting notifications directly from the source, not a third party. You can do a Google search to learn how to do this and more information about it.

• Fraud prevention – Since credit monitoring services provide notifications when your credit score changes, any change that does not make any sense to you can be an immediate fraud alert. Having these credit monitoring services will help you act and get rid of the problem faster.

See my previous comment.

• Strategic planning – When you have a credit monitoring service, you are always aware of how much money you are dealing with. So before you venture into a new business or simply, before going shopping, you are aware of how much you are only allowed to spend to keep your credit score in good standing.

You can do this for free at CreditKarma.com by using their Credit Simulator tool.

There are many other reasons to skip using credit monitoring services -- but don't take my word for it:

Lawyers.com | Credit Monitoring Services: Are They Worth It?
SmartMoney.com | 4 Reasons to Forego Credit Monitoring Services

Also, you have to ask yourself: Is it REALLY worth $150+ per year? Something to think about...

[Wino]

Yes. If you sell credit monitoring, the benefit is you receive revenue.

This. It's like selling lottery tickets. Sure, someone wins, but the setup guarantees that those who produce or sell the product are the ones that benefit.

With very, very, very, very, very (a few more "very's") exceptions.

[BuckyBadger]

Credit monitoring does nothing except cost you money. SO what if it finds something -- by then it's too late. It doesn't PROTECT you from anything, it just tells you once you've already been attacked and your credit ruined.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned credit freezing. It's the only way to really protect yourself from these sorts of things and it is cheap and you can do it yourself in 10 minutes. (There is an EXCELLENT discussion on how to do it on the Clark Howard boards.)

It cost from between $0 and $30 depending on your state. (Up to $10 per company, so it could be as much as $30 to freeze your credit. In my home state it is 100% free.) While your credit is frozen, NO ONE can apply for credit using your information. If you yourself require credit, you can unfreeze your credit in 15 seconds for between $0 and $5.

Credit freezing is the single most important and effective thing you can do to protect your credit. Why pay someone a monthly fee to tell you (too late) if someone has applied for credit under your name when for practically no money at all you can keep it from ever happening in the first place??

[ccole]

Consistent credit monitoring is your best defense against the long-term effects of identity theft and other financial hardships. Even a seemingly insignificant error about your credit activity can seriously hurt your credit score and prevent you from obtaining a loan at a good interest rate. Multiple errors and fraudulent charges made in your name can create a credit nightmare that lasts for years and can cost you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars to correct.

[BuckyBadger]

Consistent credit monitoring is your best defense against the long-term effects of identity theft and other financial hardships.

I disagree. If you monitor your credit, you will see if something has gone amiss.

But you will see it AFTER it's already happened and it's too late to do anything but try to clean up the mess that's already happened.