Credit Reports

• A credit report is a personal record of your financial history and is reviewed by future lenders in conjunction with offering credit, by potential employers, landlords and even insurance agencies. Credit reports can be ordered both through the credit bureaus or through third-party independent sites. In addition to the credit report, you also can order a credit score at an additional cost. When ordering a credit report or credit score online you may need to use a credit card, but the credit card does not necessarily have to belong to you.
  
  

Credit Cards and Use

• When ordering a credit report from the credit bureaus or most other sites online, you will be charged a fee. The fee will vary depending on where you order the report and if you order just the credit report or the credit report and score. This will require you to input credit card information. You may use your wife's credit card but only if she has given you permission to use the card. Your wife has the right to purchase anything she chooses on her credit card, and if she chooses to purchase your credit report, that is her right. A way to avoid any issue is to ask your wife to enter her own credit card information into the website and hit submit.
  
  

Other Options

• The federal government established a website allowing all consumers to pull one credit report per year. You are entitled to pull one report from each of the three major credit bureaus at no charge to you and no credit card is required. You cannot receive a credit score through this site, but it is a great way to view your credit report without needing a credit card or being charged a fee. Visit the Annual Credit Report website to order your free credit report (see Resources).
  
  

Consequences

• Choosing to use your wife's credit card or anyone else's credit card without their permission to order your credit report puts you at serious risk of being charged with a criminal theft charge. The credit agency is not going to pursue charges, but your wife may choose to do so and would have every legal right to do so. Being her spouse does not allow you to use her credit. Do not be tempted to break the law. Go to your local bank, and ask for a prepaid debit card that you can use as an alternative.