Cost of credit report: reality vs perception

$63.52 for a credit report!?!

There is an odd conflict between (1) reality and (2) consumer perception about the cost of a credit report:

1. Reality: If you throw in all the little fees and stuff that nobody talks about, the complete cost of an ordinary credit report is $63.52. Since the 1990s, my office has exclusively used Factual Data for all reports. Factual Data is one of the largest national credit reporting companies and their fees are standard for the lending industry. There are no bulk discounts or ways to get around these fees.....the fees are what they are. Once or twice per year I get a very polite letter announcing increased fees for credit reports.

2. Consumer Perception: Here's the rub.....the borrowers are constantly being offered "free" credit reports from 3rd party companies online, in the mail, and on tv commercials. These "free" credit report offerings establish the value of credit report at close to $0.00 (zero).

All this is not to complain. Since 2008 the cost of an appraisal has also almost doubled from $250 to $495. A single family home buyer can easily expect a pre-purchase home inspector to charge over $500 for a completed report that would have been $200 ten years ago. What is different is that a borrower never has an expectation that a completed appraisal report will be free but I routinely hear, "I thought credit reports were free now" from borrowers.

Below is an anonymous crop-out of the fees section of a standard credit report from Factual Data. A large part of the cumulative $63.52 fee are those six required $3.50 "Repository re-issue fees" you see at the bottom.