Here it is folks, your semi-annual reminder that FreeCreditReport is not free. Free credit reports can be found at AnnualCreditReport.com. FreeCreditReport.com is a pay site. As in you will be billed. As in not free.
Jose says:
I’m just writing you because I am so angry with freecreditreport.com. I wanted to check my credit report last month just to see where I stand so after watching the commercial, I used freecreditreport.com.
I am aware that, by law, your allowed one free credit report per year from each of the three credit unions. After I got my credit score I checked my BofA account and saw there was a $14.95 charge. I thought it was just a deposit and that it’ll be refunded.
I completely forgot about it and today, a month after I checked my score there is another $14.95 charge. I call freecreditreport.com to see whats wrong and they tell me I have to cancel my membership and the $14.95 charge will not be refunded. I get super upset and then they just hang up on me without trying to give me an explanation. The moral of the story is they are a scam and I would like to let you know that so other people don’t fall for the same thing I did.
Thanks, Jose. You might want to call Bank of America and explain the situation to them and see if they’ll reverse the charge. You’re not the only one who has fallen for the scruffy singing loser and his factually inaccurate songs. They have a big advertising budget, and we are just one little blog trying to explain federal law.
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The report and score is free as long as you cancel within their specified time window, so technically it isn’t false advertising.
Come on people, have a little common sense. The people who feel they are getting scammed by freecreditreport are the same ones that bought a house taking out a 5 year ARM with a 7% teaser rate then not realizing that the rate may go up in 5 years when it resets and that your house may go down in value. Let me guess, you want John McCain to buy your mortgage at full price?
Everyone is quick to blame big corporations for their problems, but main street is just as much to blame as wall street.
@ckaught78: the part that annoys me is that it’s technically not false advertising. the credit report is free, the service is not.
even still, i think someone could still prosecute. after all, in prostitution cases, “i charge for the companionship, but the sex is free” doesn’t generally fly.
It’s not like it’s a big secret that they will charge you. Right on their main page it says:
When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring. If you don’t cancel your membership within the 7-day trial period**, you will be billed $14.95 for each month that you continue your membership.
That’s hardly “small print”. This isn’t a scam at all.
@czarandy: Small print is anything that is designed to be overlooked. Compared to everything else on the page it is small and much less prominent. That’s what they did here: small and low-contrast (blue text on blue background).
A couple years ago I almost got tricked into signing up for this. Too bad when they asked for my credit card information, warning bells went off. Most people will realize that a company doesn’t need your credit card information to run a credit report.
Helpful advise to anybody signing up for anything: Read the contract before you sign it. Terms of service are provided during the sign up process that state there will be a charge. It is written on freecreditreport.com before you even start to sign up. There is a vocal disclaimer at the end of the annoying commercials. I’m not blaming the OP here, everybody falls for this kind of thing sometimes, but it’s much harder to get scammed when you notice that even though it’s called FREEcreditreport, there are disclaimers everywhere on the site that say it’s not free.
@BrianDaBrain: I wish that were true, but quite a few people ARE actually saying it’s fine. As in “This isn’t a scam at all.” (1)
FREE credit report! Get your FREE credit report at FREEcreditreport.com! (costs $14.95 a month)
It’s incredible that people are even defending these misleading a-holes. Sure you have a responsibility as a consumer to know what you’re getting yourself into, but how much more misleading does it need to get before it’s considered illegal?
I haven’t seen or heard the commercials, just know that supposedly reputable companies are giving referrals to freecreditreport.com, and that site goes NOT do a good job of honestly, plainly and most of all clearly stating that it will cost you money.
@Zephyr7: I don’t think anybody here is saying that it’s right or good. Hell, I hate that company and its ads and everything about it. I hate the fact that they’re sneaky bastards. BUT, their website is legally required to tell you that the service costs $14.95 per month, and it does. Granted its in smaller print on the left side of the screen, but it is there, and that’s all they legally have to do. Yes, it’s a scam, yes they should all be dragged out behind the woodshed and axed, but that probably won’t happen.
Again, I’m not saying that they’re correct in the way they market themselves, but it is the ultimate responsibility of the consumer to ensure that what’s being presented isn’t a scam.In this case, it’s as easy as A) actually listening to the commercials, because they tell you it’s not free, B) reading the paragraph on the freecreditreport homepage that tells you it’s not free, or C) paying attention to the myriad of posts on Consumerist that talk about how it’s not free.
IMO
I have had FRC for over a year and I got exactly what I paid for the service was exactly as described. I called this AM to cancel the service and they offered a 50% discount to $6.?? just FYI to any subscribers
I used this just last night to get my credit score, and it was made quite plain on the site that I was signing up for a 7-day trial and that I’d have to cancel to avoid payment. Plus, the whole having to enter my credit card number was kind of a tip-off.
As soon as I got my score, I wrote down the phone number I need to call to cancel. (I’ll put that off till I’m in a good mood.)
Unfortunately, annualcreditreport.com won’t help you if you happen to be an American overseas — it won’t accept foreign ISPs. Anyone know of a good, free proxy that will get through?
This IS a scam and I got my $$ back.
If you know anything about disclosure, you know that fine print is not an ethical way to do it. thats why financial companies have strict rules about disclosure.
customers do have rights and they are NOT responsible for reading the fine print if they are misled. Thats why freecreditreport has been sued and lost, and they will refund your money if you know your rights.
I wrote to:
ConsumerInfo.com
Attn: Customer Care
PO Box 19729
Irvine, CA 92623-9729
they gave me a partial refund which really made me angry, so I wrote another letter telling them GIVE ME BACK THE MONEY YOU STOLE FROM ME!!!
I sent an email copy to:
i sent a copy via e-mail to support@FreeCreditReport.com
they replied almost instantly wow!
Dear Trevor Jordet:
Thank you for writing and we apologize for the inconvenience.
We have already initiated a refund of $44.85 to your account. This refund should appear on your next billing cycle.
Thank you for using FreeCreditReport.com.
Sincerely,
Beth G.
Customer Care Representative
Man do I wish I had seen this before I got sucked into using FreeCreditReport.com last year. I later noticed these odd $15/month charges on my bank account from something called Tripple Advantage. When I called my bank they told me it was FreeCreditReport charging me. When I called FCR about it, they said: it’s stated on the homepage of the site that you will be AUTOMATICALLY (i.e.: without your express consent) enrolled in a service for which you will be charged. They enroll you in the service as soon as you *review* your report. So they’ll generate the report for free but they won’t let you see it without charging you money.
I think there should be a class action suit against them for charging without consent, for misleading customers, and for fraudulent services.
THEY ARE A SCAM, and the worst part is they are scamming the people in the most dire need. Who goes to a site like FCR except those of us who are desperately trying to get our heads above water?
@YachneKeenan:
le ditto.
Luckily, I caught this charge 11 days after getting my credit report. (Unemployment has, ironically, lent me a lot of time to watch my financial accounts.)
Yes, I skimmed the fine print and missed the 9 day grace period. My bad. But I’m more disappointed that it was Mint.com that linked me to FreeCreditReport.com.