how come these companies can charge you to see (your) credit score?

I mean it really is their information. They're the ones that are collecting the information from your creditors, they are the ones that are processing said information into a database they designed, they are the ones that employ full time employees to process and handle the data as well as serve as customer service reps for both the creditors and the clients.

I don't have an answer to the question of fee charges for that info, but it is their property to begin with I would attest.

You are entitled to a free annual copy of your credit report from each credit bureaus. You can access those free reports online thru AnnualCreditReport.com. Reports are free, scores are not.

You get the free reports so that you can review them for accuracy. Scores are not YOURS. The formulas are used are proprietory. The companies who developed the score get paid every time that formula is used. They are not providing a service. They are a company selling their product.

In any case, creditors use FICO scores but scores are still only a pre-screening tool. Decisions are based on your actual credit report.

It's not "your" credit score. You don't own it.

It's their score, because they created it. You didn't. The developed the formula, and they did the calculations. You didn't.

And they are not providing a service which should already be free. They providing a service which should not be free.

It's legal and it's called doing business as usual. I've had credit for 50 years and never requested my score because they are just numbers. The only time you want a high FICO is if you are buying a home or a new car.

bdancer (as usual) is correct, but I'll add that there's talk about requiring that credit scores also be made available for free. Some banks are already doing it for their customers.

they are in a service business . they have stockholders and are responsible to earn the company income. that is their business. go to a site where it is free.