FreeCreditReport.com is the not-so-free offer that just won
’t go away. There is a free site: AnnualCreditReport.com, but Experian’s site that actually charges you a monthly fee on your credit card, touts that it is the correct site!
Over the past three years ConsumerInfo.com, a division of credit bureau Experian
, has paid the federal government more than $1.2 million in settlements over allegations that it deceptively marketed “free” credit reports through its web site, FreeCreditReport.com. The issue: To receive a report that’s truly free, consumers must first provide their credit-card information. Unless they cancel before a free-trial period expires, they will be billed $14.95 a month.
Despite being admonished by the Federal Trade Commission in 2005 and again in 2007, FreeCreditReport.com’s peddling of “free” credit reports continues — and recently it has reached a fever pitch. Amid the nation’s economic meltdown and with consumers more worried than ever about their credit profiles, the company has been flooding the airwaves with ads.