Credit Check Total Reviews Scam or Legit?

After a review of Credit Kama here on FinanceGourmet, a reader asked if I would look into another service he had found called Credit Check Total at creditchecktotal.com.

Credit Check Total Reviews

Credit Check Total Review

With many financial services, the reality of the offering differs significantly from what the bold, large-type headline suggests. The Credit Check Total website leads with the bold headline that you can “see your whole credit picture” of all three credit reports and credit scores for just $1. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Further down the page, but to their credit, not buried in the fine print, is information you need to determine if this near free credit report offer is right for you, or if Credit Check Total is a scam. It says that when you order the $1 credit reports and scores, that you will automatically, and without the ability to opt-out begin a trial membership that costs $29.95 per month.

The real trick here is that you have just a 7-day trial period. If you don’t cancel during those 7 days, then those $1 credit reports actually cost you at least $30.95.

When I looked into whether or not Credit Karma was a scam, I was on the lookout for whether or not they tried to get me to enter a credit card number or bank account information. After all, there is no reason to require a billing method if your service is actually free. However, a lot of so-called “free” offers are actually trial subscriptions to a credit monitoring service. It looks like Credit Check Total’s offer might have been designed to avoid that red flag. By charging a $1 for their reports, they offer a legitimate reason to need a method of payment (and to test that it works).




There is no reason to pay $30 per month for a credit monitoring service. There are plenty out there that will do it for much less.

credit check total reviews

If that weren’t enough, the credit score offered through the creditchecktotal.com website isn’t even a real FICO credit score. The fine print says that it is calculated using the Plus Score Model and is for educational purposes only. As I have mentioned before, having the exact FICO score isn’t necessary since you should really just focus on making sure that whatever score you are using doesn’t go down. However, for $360 per year, you should at least get a FICO credit score included.

I do not recommend signing up for this service, even if you intend to cancel before the trial period is up. There is just no added value beyond getting your regular free annual credit reports. I can’t say how accurate is credit check total because I wasn’t willing to pay and sign up.

Cancel Credit Check Total

If you go against my advice to not sign up for CreditCheck Total, then you will need to cancel your service to avoid paying a very high monthly fee.

If you insist on signing up, check to see if your credit card offers a temporary number. Many cards allow you to generate a temporary number online. Set it to expire next month, and if possible, set a maximum limit of $5. You can use a one-use number or set the limit at just $1 because they charge tax, and they do a reversible authorization on your card of $1 in addition to the actual $1 fee, probably to detect one-time use numbers.

Cancelling Credit Check Total before the trial period is up is necessary to avoid being charged the full credit monitoring service fee. Technically, you have nine days after you sign up for your $1 credit reports because it takes 48 hours for your monitoring to actually start. This is nice. At least the clock isn’t ticking while you aren’t getting anything. However, remember, this is not the typical 30-day trial that you often see for these services. In fact, the window to cancel is so short, I recommend cancelling immediately after you get your three credit reports.

How To Cancel Credit Check Total

According to the Terms of Service posted on their website, you can cancel the recurring credit monitoring service by calling the Credit Check Total phone number 1-866-506-7894 or by using the website. Don’t wait until 5:00 p.m. on the last day to call Credit Check Total customer service as there is some fuzzy language about time zones and periods in the TOS. Of course, the company website is at creditchecktotal <dot> com.



22 thoughts on “Credit Check Total Reviews Scam or Legit?”

  1. Thank you for the introduction of a range of information that is very interesting to see in this article. Thanks for sharing wonderful information.

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  2. These $1 free trial on credit scores are scams. They have you over a barrel if you ever loop in. Can’t find places to cancel membership some sites keep looping you.ended up paying over $200 for what MY OWN INFORMATION! GUESS THAT IS WHY STUPID IS BLISS.Time for some regulations. The credit score madmess is taking in BILLIONS. Why hasn’t somebody stopped this and informed the public that fees are being charged for services not rendered and informed them that seeing your credit scores can be free. I know should have read the small print but Consumers should be informed IN LARGE PRINT THIS IS YOUR INFO AND YOU HAVE A FREE RIGHT TO IT!!
    PS Trust is no longer

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  3. THIS IS A PURE SCAM. I CAN’T EVEN FIND THE WAY TO CANCEL. WHEN I CALLED THE COMPUTER SAYS I AM NOT ENROLLED BUT THEY CHARGED ME THE $29.95. CAN ANY BODY ADVISE WHAT TO DO NEXT?

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  4. It’s a TOTAL SCAM. I signed up for a free trial, not realizing the inaccuracy of the info. I went to cancel my membership during the free trial and when I called the number to cancel, the automated system doesn’t give me the option to speak with anyone! I put in my personal info, then follow the prompts to cancel, but instead of putting me on hold as I hear happens to everyone. The system just says you are not a member, goodbye! How do you like that? I even tried emailing them to cancel during the trial period and explained the issue with the phone system. I didn’t even get the privilege to be out on hold. Lo and behold, I was just charged the monthly fee yesterday. I tried calling again…same thing happened. I tried to log in to see if I could cancel or do something…thinking well if I’m being charged as a member I might as well see if I can find a different way to cancel. Well when I put in my log in, system doesn’t recognize me. I tried to out in my personal info and answer security question, but again the system doesn’t recognize me.

    So I am being charged like a member, even though I made every attempt to cancel during the free trial. AND I can’t even access the info that they are charging me for…

    How is that fair? I’d say that fraudulent. I emailed them again with screen shots from the website and explaining the phone issue again. I may need to get a lawyer. Anyone know any good consumer protection lawyers?

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  5. I was on hold for 2 hours I guess they want you to get tired of waiting and the best thing is the horrible music they play while you are waiting…..

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  6. This website is a total scam. I was a member for two years. Experian showed my FICO as 770. I just got a credit card and they quoted my FICO through Experian at 717. I tried to cancel on six different occasions and was on hold for at least an hour EVERY time, so I hung up and cancelled online. Customer service is non-existent. Stay away from this scam.

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  7. These Guys really suck. I wanted to cancel my membership. There is no alternative other than calling their number where they make you wait minimum one hour before anyone gets on phone from their end. While you are waiting their announcement continues to freak you our about how you are leaving yourself to mercy of Dark- World once you cancel your membership with them. What the hell !!

    I 100% agree with comments of User TIAMAREE. Exact same experience here !!

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  8. I got on here to check the reviews to see if there posted scores are really the real scores instead all I seen is about the fee and how to cancel this membership!Wtf I just got this service today and these reviews have to me about nothing I really looking for!

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  9. Buyer beware. I got my credit score for $1 but to cancel you must call their 800 number which answers as Experian. I was on hold for 1.5 hours on 2 separate occasions. their excuse “we are very busy right now” . If you don’t cancel within the 7 days you are on the hook for 29.95 a month until you cancel. Not worth the time or frustration.

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  10. You must conceal the trail membership with in 7 days. Great service if you just want to check your credit. I check my true score once a month and conceal it with in a day or two….

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  11. wanted to try out the company because I was advised by a potential lender to do so. I got sick and was on pills that made me drowsy and couldn’t use the site afterwards for trial period of 9 days. As a warning to myself I marked down the 6th day on calendar (company rep told me that you don’t count weekends), to cancel the membership. I unfortunately didn’t make it due to having a quickly decided on surgery. Today I called them which was the 8th day of trial and they said they would not return my money so they STOLE $32 from me and I am someone who is on a very ow income applying for disablity. MAKE SURE YOU WANT THIS CREDIT COMPANY because they will not refund your money after paying that $1 for any reason. I don’t look kindly on any company that would take a measely $32 in the way they took it from me especially since I was in the time period of cancelling eventhough I had medical issues given what the original rep said about not counting weekends during the trial. BAD NEWS. Won’t use them ever again.

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  12. This is the site that I believe offers preapproved offers for credit cards with a soft pull. That is tremendously useful to get an offer that has a 99% chance of approval. What I fault them is the description by capitol one.

    Says nothing about a processing fee of $89 by capitol one and the one I chose was no annual membership fee. Got through the process and approved for a NON SECURED credit card and found the $89 dollar processing fee and the fact that the first year annual membership fee was $75. Maybe the site isn’t updated? I suspect that most preapproved cards are like this. I went ahead and took the offer looking at the bigger picture that it should raise my credit score a lot quicker to have another card–with little to no balance–and I would get a much better deal on a home mortgage, thus saving me thousands in the long run.

    On creditkarm, it’s free but I have to wonder that if some of the offers aren’t paid offers to CK. You are unlikely to get an unsecured credit card with say a real FICO of 550 but you can see fair, good, or whatever. On creditkarma, they use the fako scores.

    Get a Discover card. Many credit cards are now giving you a free monthly update of your REAL FICO score by one of the three reporting agencies. I noticed that while my real FICO was going up, the FAKO was going down and down.

    You can see the factors of why it goes down. One was opened too many accounts in one month. Duh, I opened just one new account in that month. Guess one new account is too much. They say having more lines of credit, to a point, raises your score but then you get dings on your credit score for applying, even if you’re approved.

    It’s a scam game and you need to know the rules before playing. Credit scores are kind of like casinos but without free drinks.

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  13. Thanks for the advice and experience you had with them, now i wont even try this website to check my credit..credit karma is 100% free, no dollar or credit card required at all..this saved me time, money, stress..

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  14. JUst sign up with credit karma. You will not need to use a credit card. This guys creditchecktotal will not display the 29.95 charge conspicuously but hidden. That is how those sharks run business

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  15. Its real not good web site
    they put their 1 $ after 3 moths their start charge me 90$ and its scam.This credit website is truly not accurate. They showing you its 1 $ after in hidden place they put automatic charge 29.95$. I real disopointed in this web site and they dont refund money. Good luck creditchecktotal

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  16. All of a sudden about 3 weeks ago I was deluged with emails indicating that my credit score had been increased, some indicating substantially. Curious about this since I have lousy credit I tried the CREDITCHECK Total this a.m. and when I got to the last page to sign in I got the “sorry your username and password are no good. So, I emailed EXPERIAN and told them to cancel service and I called the phone number and after I explained what happened, the woman said she had to verify who I was although all that information was in the forms which had been filled out. She wanted to go through all/most/some of the items I may have had on the Experian credit report and I said no, that I was paying a dollar for whatever information was available. I was supposed to wait 2-4 hours to attempt another connection to the report. Anyway, in the past I had tried to get a free annual report from one of the services and the form I had to fill out required more information than I had to give while in the Navy applying for a ultra top secret clearance. Was it the intention of Congress to allow these 3 bureaus to ask for your life’s history from conception to present day?

    There is another old scam coming around and that is kind of like, “you are such an outstanding leader in your community we’d like to put your name and bio in our annual book, etc”. They don’t mention a fee but I recall it was substantial and I think the book actually never got published.

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  17. This credit website is truly not accurate. My score was registered about 100 points less each score than I should be. I signed up for the single transunion score so I know that accurate score but wanted a site that reports all three and updates regularly. Not just 1 time every 3 months like identity guard!!! So I called in to cancel and had to be so firm with them I was almost rude. The guy almost refused to cancel service. I gave him every reason possible to counter his spiel. I finally put it to a dead halt and asked to speak to his manager. He said ok I’ll cancel after the trail period. That started another argument. I said I wanted it immediately. If not I would put a hold so no more funds could be withdrawn. That shut him up fast!!! Be firm with them. And when u first dial in don’t press the cancelation option on the menu so u will be able to speak to a real person, not a message saying no one is in or can take ur call!! Better yet don’t buy it in the first place. Lol

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