Q. I've heard I should check my credit score periodically and that these can be obtained for free. Where I can go to get these?

A. Financial experts recommend you check your credit score and report at least once a year. But while your credit report can be obtained for free, getting your credit score is a little trickier.

Credit reports are basically a snapshot of your financial obligations and show what credit accounts you hold or have held in the past. This includes your mortgages, home equity lines, other loans and credit cards along with your payment history and outstanding balances. It also can list the number of times potential lenders have checked on your report.

Financial advisers and consumer counselors such as Wendy Burkholder of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaii, recommend you check the reports periodically for inaccurancies or incomplete information. The Hawai'i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs suggests people review them to make sure there's no unusual activity from identity theft.

Access to the credit digest is mandated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It requires the three major U.S. consumer reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — to make available your credit statements once every 12 months.

The three agencies opened a Web site, www.annualcredit report.com, a year ago to handle consumers' requests. Make sure you are on the correct site when you seek the statements; there are plenty of like-named sites such as freecreditreport.com that can include charges if you aren't careful how you order the service.

What's not available for free at the Web site is your credit score, a three-digit number that lenders and landlords use in deciding whether to do business with you. The scoring is based on information in the credit report and ranks people on a scale from 300 (worst) to 850 (best).

Having a low score can translate into less favorable terms when it comes to borrowing. Someone with a score of 760 to 850 will be offered a 5.91 percent interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for $216,000, according to Fair Isaac Corp., a Minnesota company that developed the scoring system used by the credit agencies.

Someone with a score of 620-639 would get a rate of 7.5 percent. They would pay $227 more a month than the person with the better credit rating.

The average Hawai'i consumer has a score of 691, according to Experian's Internet site. That compares to the national index score of 677. Texas has the lowest average at 650 while Vermont and South Dakota have the best average at 709.

Getting your score for free isn't as simple as getting your credit report. People making a request through www.annual creditreport.com are offered the score for a fee. It costs $5 on the site to get how Experian ranked you.

For those who don't mind signing up and later canceling accounts, both Experian and TransUnion offer free-trial subscriptions to services that include reports and credit scores.

TransUnion's Credit Monitoring product alerts you when there are changes to your credit report as well as access to your score. It costs $10 a month after the free 30-day trial period.

Experian's Credit Manager also gives updates of changes to reports and includes a credit report and score. It also costs $10 a month after the one-month trial period expires.

MyFico.com, part Fair Isaac, also has a similar product that costs $8 a month if you don't cancel before the free period comes to a close.

where to get report, score

Perhaps the easiest way to get your free credit report is by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. You also can call (877) 322-8228. You also can print out a request form available at www.ftc.gov/credit and mail it to Annnual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

You will need to provide your Social Security number, date of birth and address to obtain the reports. You also may need to include other personal information, including previous home addresses and financial history.

Credit scores are available to people willing to sign up for free trials of programs offered by several credit agencies. You must cancel before the offer period ends or pay $8 to $10 a month for the service.

Sites offering the trial subscriptions include www.myfico.com, www.experian.com and www.transunion.com.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.