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If you’ve ever seen any of your FICO credit scores in the past, chances are you paid for them, probably anywhere from $12 to $15.

Recently, however, myFICO.com (the consumer website of Fair Isaac, creator of the FICO score) introduced a new trial service that lets you get a free FICO score instantly online.

What’s the catch? You get the free credit score when you agree to a 10-day trial offer for FICO’s Score Watch product, a credit monitoring service. I don’t know how long this freebie will last. But in my opinion, this is a really good offer.

Although I’ve written extensively about the benefits of credit monitoring, if you don’t want it, just cancel the Score Watch service within 10 days, and you still get to see your FICO credit score immediately.

This is a particularly great freebie for anyone who hasn’t seen their FICO score in a while. And more than two-thirds of all adults in the U.S. haven’t seen their credit reports in the past year, with even fewer having checked their credit scores, according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Also, if you’re applying for a loan of any kind soon – like a mortgage, car loan, student loan, or even a credit card – you definitely should check your FICO score.

OK, now a few words about the fine print and other important details.

To get your free credit score, you must to go this myFICO free trial page and create an account that has your personal information and payment data. Even though you input this info now, you don’t get charged for anything until after 10 days. (Again, you can avoid all charges just by canceling before that time).

If you do decide to cancel within the 10-day window, myFICO has made it pretty easy to do so. For starters, they send you an email reminder three days before the trial ends to alert you to make a decision about the offer and whether you want to keep it or cancel it.

Also, myFICO provides this online form to make the cancellation process very quick.

Just select the option that says “I would like to cancel my product subscription” and then click on the Score Watch product.

Lastly, if you do decide keep Score Watch because you want ongoing credit monitoring (as I highly recommend), be aware that myFICO’s service requires a 3-month minimum subscription. The credit monitoring currently costs $12.95 per month.

As I stated in my book, Perfect Credit, I’ve actually used myFICO’s credit monitoring service for years, and it’s definitely been instrumental in helping me stay on top of my credit. I’m confident it can do the same for you.

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“Soft” inquiries – even lots of them – will not bump off or remove “hard” inquiries on your credit reports. This is because all inquiries stay on your credit report for two years, and hard inquiries count against you, for the purposes of calculating your FICO scores, for one year.

What Is the Difference Between a “Hard” and a “Soft” Inquiry?

A hard inquiry in your credit file is a record of any application for credit that you made. For example, if you seek a mortgage, student loan or car loan, or even if you apply for a credit card or perhaps request an increase in your current credit card limit, any of these actions can result in an inquiry on your Equifax, Experian or TransUnion credit files. Other business-related transactions can also produce inquiries: Among them: signing a cell phone contract, launching new service with a utility provider (like a local gas or electric company), filling out an apartment rental application, and – as even using a debit card to reserve or pay for a car rental. All of these activities generate inquiries that are known as “hard” pulls. By contrast, when you examine your own credit report, or when an existing creditor does a review of your credit files, those are called “soft” pulls, and they do not impact your credit score. So let’s say you use a credit monitoring service, and you review your credit report each month – or even weekly or daily. Those “soft” inquiries will be noted on your credit files, but they won’t hurt your FICO scores, and they won’t make your “hard” inquiries go away.

Don’t Allow Excessive Hard Inquiries of Your Credit Files

The American Bankers Association says a single inquiry can drop your credit score by 35 points. According to the formula used by Fair Isaac Corporation (the company that created FICO credit scores), inquiries account for 10% of your score. So think about it this way: If your FICO score is 680 points, inquiries account for 68 of those points. Obviously it’s not that simple, because different elements of FICO’s formula are weighted differently, based on a slew of considerations. And inquiries can have a greater or lesser impact on your score depending on the length of your credit history and other factors. Nevertheless, to minimize the impact of inquiries on your credit rating, only apply for credit when you truly need it. And if you have to shop around – say, for a mortgage or a new car loan – do so within a concentrated period of time. FICO executives say that multiple inquiries for auto financing or home loans are treated as a single inquiry, so long as the inquiries all occur within a 14-day period. The idea, according to FICO, is for them to avoid penalizing consumers for shopping around for the best rate.

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Question: I am 24 years old and my credit is not too spectacular.  Most of the accounts on my credit reports are things I have done to myself, but the other half (and the most expensive portion of my debt) was done by an immediate family member who knows my social security number and has put cable, electric and telephones in my name and did not pay the bill. I don’t want to get my family member in trouble but I am not sure what to do?

Answer: You should start by taking control of your finances and being honest about what is going on. You are the victim of identity theft, pure and simple. And it’s well past time you started letting others know that you did not authorize or open those utility accounts and that you are not responsible for them, period. End of story. Start monitoring your credit every month to make sure nothing else unexpected pops up there. Put a credit freeze and a credit alert on your credit reports to prevent further damage from this person who has blatantly taken advantage of you.

Lastly, you need to confront this person directly. It doesn’t matter if that person is a “close” family member. I don’t care if it’s your sister, a cousin – or even your mother. Let this individual know that they have totally crossed the line and damaged your finances and credit rating in a way that is completely unfair, disrespectful to you, and that has long-lasting implications. Tell the person that they have exactly 1 week to contact every creditor in which they used your name to cut off service in your name — and put it in their name.

If that person’s credit is bad (which I suspect it is) and they can’t get a phone, electric service or cable in their own name, that’s their issue to deal with; not yours. A week’s time is plenty of notice for them to take action. Tell them that if they don’t handle it in a week, you will be forced to contact those utilities directly and advise them of the situation. Hopefully, you will be stern and straight-forward enough in your approach to this person that he/she will know that you mean business. I’m not saying that you have to turn the person in (although they do deserve it). But neither should you be held continually responsible for someone else’s financial mess.

If the person doesn’t act quickly, and follow through as you’ve told them to do, don’t hesitate to get those services cut off. If push comes to shove, and you “have to” tell who the culprit is, I would go ahead and do it. Why would you go through unwarranted financial stress for this person when clearly they’ve shown you absolutely no personal or financial consideration whatsoever? – Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach

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