AnnualCreditReport.com is the website set up by the credit bureaus in order to comply with a federal law that entitles you to one free credit report each year — hence the name "annual credit report."

Don't been fooled by other sites. They want to sell you a trial subscription to some credit monitoring service that you probably don't need.

[Annual Credit Report.com]

TransUnion
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

Experian
P.O. Box 9530
Allen, TX 70513

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

(Photo: Getty)

Reader Brian is one such consumer. He clicked through to Freecreditreport.com from a credit bureau website and was later socked with a charge for a credit monitoring service he knew nothing about. Here's his letter:

A few weeks ago I decided that it was time to do my annual check of my credit report. All of the major credit reporting agencies seem to strong arm you towards www.freecreditreport.com.

I went through the sign-up and authentication procedure. As a part of the procedure you have to enter a valid credit card that appears on your report. It’s followed by the usual legalize eye-watering disclaimers.

Last week I checked my current MasterCard bill online. I was greeted by the following entry:

07/28/08 CIC*Triple Advantage 877-4816825 CA $14.95
Not immediately recognizing the company, I called the company and found out that it was an alias for FreeCreditReport.com. After navigating the menu tree I was eventually connected to a woman who seemed to be annoyed that she had to deal with a customer. I asked her about the charge and she started asking far more personal information than was contained in my credit report. When I refused to provide more than the basic information, she relented and insisted that I had signed up for the monthly monitor. She further stated that since I hadn’t cancelled it within the first month (I didn’t know about it until the bill came) I was obligated for a one year membership.

Not one to take this type of thing sitting down, I advised the woman in direct (not offensive) terms that
· I did not knowingly sign up for the service.
· I did not authorize this service
· I do not want this service
· I will not pay for this service
· I will be filing a formal complaint with the AG’s office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts about their deceptive marketing practices

The woman put me on hold for about five minutes and finally came back and said that the account had been cancelled and that a refund would be forthcoming. As of this morning, approximately a week later, the credit has yet to show up on my credit card statement.

The moral to this story is that freecreditreport.com is a scam set up by the credit reporting agencies. It is not there to fulfill their legal obligation to provide you with your credit reports. It is, instead, a sleazy way of selling their “value-added” services. I think that most people would be afraid to stand up to a reporting agency.

If you're a regular reader of Consumerist, you may have known about this issue for a long time, (or are the type of person who always reads the fine print, which is very admirable) but most consumers are simply not aware that Freecreditreport.com isn't the "free credit report" that they're entitled to by law. What's more, they implicitly trust the heavily advertised guitar playing loser from the commercials, or the recommendation of a major credit bureau.

Warn your friends. Freecreditreport.com isn't free.

Free Annual Credit Reports [FTC]

Each state deals with credit freezes differently. In some states there are fees, in others credit freezes are only available to consumers who have filed an ID theft related police report. Other states do not allow credit freezes at all.

To find out what the laws are in your state, check out Consumer's Union for an up to date round up of credit freeze laws.

State Security Freeze Laws [Consumers Union via U.S. PIRG Blog]
(Photo: Zenera)

The letter said Jim could request information about the decision, but when he called to do so the CSR told him not to worry, AT&T sends that letter to everyone.

What? Jim tried to talk to a supervisor but the CSR hung up on him. Does anyone work for AT&T? Can you explain this strange conversation? Because we can't. Jim says the CSR confirmed that his installer was still scheduled for tomorrow and that everything was peachy with his order. We're as confused as Jim is.

Jim writes:

I'm confused. We just bought a car (a Yaris, it's awesome) 10 days ago and the guy commended our credit score and history. We got a fantastic rate on the loan, and our credit history was frankly cleaner than we thought it would be.

We are scheduled to have AT&T U-verse installed tomorrow, starting between 12:00 and 2:00. We ordered it last Thursday. Today we got a letter which frightened me, here are the relevant bits:

06/25/07

Addressed to me with my legal first name, not the name I go by and use for this account.

"Dear My-Last-Name" Like 'Dear Smith',

"...Based in part on an assessment of your credit history, we have made the following decision to:

Limit and/or deny the purchase of products and/or services

...You have rights, etc...call Equifax...

If you would like to know specifically the principal reason(s) for our decision, please contact us within 60 days of the date of this letter. We will tell you the reason for our decision in writing within 30 days after receiving your request.

Should you have any additional questions, please contact us at 1-800-288-2020." XOXOXO, AT&T.

I surely did want to know, specifically, the principal reason(s), so I called to make that request. I've been watching tv via rabbit ears for the last three months, and obsessively defending my credit for years, so I'm about to have a stroke, but I stay calm.

The first rep listened to my request, tried to transfer me, and disconnected. The second rep disconnected while verifying my info. The next rep, Dwayne, looked up my account and this is the mostly verbatim version of the conversation:

I got a letter that says yada yada. So, I'm calling to request the specific items in my credit history that caused this decision.

We send that letter to everyone, it just means we checked your credit.

But it says, based on my credit history, AT&T has decided to 'limit and/or deny the purchase of products and/or services.' (I quote the part about requesting specifics). I want to know what is on my history that caused this.

You've already been approved though. You wouldn't have received the letter if you weren't approved.

But it does not say I have been approved, it says I will be limited and/or denied. (I quote the letter again).

We, the CSRs, we don't send that letter.

I understand that.

That letter comes from another department. We send it to everybody, it just means we checked your credit.

So you tell everybody that they will be limited and/or denied? (What does limited mean anyway?) I don't think you understand what the letter says. (I start quoting. Again!)

I don't think you understand what I am saying to you.

Can I talk to a supervisor? I'd like to escalate this. I'm not going to complain about you, but I don't understand this letter, and I'd like the specific information it offers me. You've been very courteous, I just think we're not communicating well, and I'd like to have a second opinion on this because it's very serious and completely baffling.

Ok, no problem, I can transfer you to a manager. But I'm telling you, it's fine.

So I still have an installation scheduled for tomorrow at noon?

Yeah, it's right here. Between 12 and 2. Eastern.

And I get U400 and the DVR and 3 months free and...

...and free equipment and free install and etc., etc. That's what we hooked you up with. You ordered it from Susan on ... last Thursday. Is that who you ordered this from?

I don't know, my wife ordered it.

Ask her.

She's not home. (Where is this going? Is he proving he's an honest chap or something?) So this letter that says I will be limited and/or denied, and advises me to contact Equifax, and contact you for specific information, actually just means all is well?

That letter says we checked your credit. If you hadn't been approved, we wouldn't have scheduled the installation, and you wouldn't have received the letter.

On and on, so I ask for a supervisor again, he keeps up the "all is well, please disperse" for a few more minutes. I finally cut him off and calmly explain again that I think he and I are having a miscommunication, and I'd still like to speak to a supervisor because this doesn't make any sense. He tries to transfer me to a supervisor and I wait on hold for 5 minutes before an automated voice says "Thank you for calling. Goodbye." and I am disconnected.

I've had letters like this in the past, back when I wasn't such a good kid with my credit, and I know they usually mean "Limit and/or (especially, emphatically, while cackling mischievously) deny the purchase of products and/or services (forever!)."

So, naturally, tomorrow I am checking my credit reports, and I guess expecting the "professional installation", and requesting the specific information again, but what is wrong here? Could the car be the problem in my history? Is there a problem? I am curious whether this has happened to others, and why AT&T might be causing unnecessary panic with poorly worded letters, or, more likely, why Dwayne might be causing unnecessary peace and tranquility. After the 5 hour (!) install tomorrow is some goon going to come back and take it all out? While telling me they do it to everybody?

Jim

(Photo: epicharmus)

Then, one day, Max read the provisions of the Fair Credit in Reporting Act (FCRA). The FCRA (in so many words) dictates that every person has the right to dispute the accuracy or validity of any item on their credit report with the three credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion). From the date that each bureau receives notice of the dispute, the bureau has 30 days to investigate the dispute. If, at the conclusion of 30 days, if the bureau cannot verify the accuracy of the information in that person's credit report, or the investigation just doesn't get completed in time, the offending item is automatically deleted. Gone. Done. Case closed.
...
Max started his journey with a credit score in the low 500s, and now, in a matter of months, it had crested above 600. Eventually, and through great discipline, Max managed to eliminate every negative item on his credit report, simply by asking for proof that they belonged there in the first place.

As a result, Max's credit score improved to the point where he was able to buy a new car and move into his first house. Before losing contact with Max, I could tell that he had learned from the foolish mistakes of his youth and appreciated the opportunity to reboot his credit history.

How to Lawfully Reset Your Credit History [Make Your Nut]
(Photo: metavariable)

1. Purchase a certificate of deposit (CD) in 3 banks.
2. Take out a loan from each bank for the amount of the CD. Secure the loan with the CD.
3. Place the loan monies in an interest-bearing account, such as a high-yield savings account.
4. Slowly pay down the loans each month.

Does this method work? Are there possible pitfalls to watch out for?— BEN POPKEN