No, in fact Congress passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act a few years ago that allows you to check your score for free. Wouldn't that be a bummer if they dinged you for checking your score?
Credit counseling helps people by putting them on a plan to get out of credit card debt. Without this, most people would have no clue as to how get out of debt.
When you ask a possible creditor to inquire about your credit, it may affect your credit. This is because it implies that you're possibly opening a new line of credit. But you have the right to look...