From our president: What's the score?

Let's see whether we've got this straight: You go about your life buying stuff on your credit cards, paying your bills, whittling down your mortgage, and the record of all those transactions—your record—is scooped up by credit-reporting agencies and put in a file.

The score that lenders really use may factor into your chances of getting a car loan, a mortgage, or a job, and into what you'll pay in interest, as a deposit for rent and utilities, and, in many states, for insurance.

Then a secret algorithm is layered on to create . . . ta-da! . . . your three-digit credit score. Well, typically it's not yours until you pay for it, and the number you get might not be the same as the one lenders use to make decisions about you.

The numbers don't add up

Ten years ago, consumers won the right to a copy of their credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies once every 12 months, free. That has allowed consumers to check their files before they apply for loans or credit and to correct errors to get the best terms.

But the free credit report doesn't come with a free credit score. It should, and we strongly support a bill now before Congress. The Free Access to Credit Scores Act would also ensure that the score is the one actually used by lenders and not an "educational score" of—as the bill's sponsors say—"unknown reliability."

Since January, we've been engaging consumers through e-mail and social media, and close to 52,000 have sent messages to their lawmakers in support of this effort. To join them, go to DefendYourDollars.org.

For now, don't sign up for costly credit-monitoring services or be tricked into buying scores that are useless in the marketplace. For your free credit reports, go to AnnualCreditReport.com; steer clear of the other websites, no matter how legitimate they may sound. For more information, go to ConsumersUnion.org.