Consumers Union supported Sen Mark Udall's amendment to the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S. 3217) that gives consumers who have been adversely affected by their credit history free access to their credit score. As our colleagues at the CR Money Blog noted, this is a good step in the right direction but we think you should receive a free credit score in every free credit report too.

From Sen. Udall's press release:

Under the bipartisan amendment, if a consumer is turned down for a loan or purchase, receives a higher interest rate on a loan or unfavorable terms on a credit card, or is not hired for a job due to unfavorable credit, they will automatically be given disclosure of their credit score free of charge. In the past, the law did not require consumers to be given their credit score in such situations, and deprived them of crucial financial information about themselves at a critically important time.

A credit score is one of the most important pieces of information a business or lending institution uses to judge a consumer’s creditworthiness. Currently, many consumers have access to their credit reports, but not their scores. A credit report only gives a consumer’s history of credit applications, purchases and payments, but not the score. By informing consumers who are negatively affected by their score, Udall’s amendment will help level the playing field for consumers and give them more control over their financial well-being.

The NY Times Bucks Blog did a summation of how the process will work now and also calls for your credit score to be included in your annual free credit report from the three credit reporting companies. Rememberyou should only use the government endorsed www.annualcreditreport.com to get your annual report.