Consumerist
-
credit reports
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Of Fixing Credit Report Errors
A great way to improve your credit score is to get rid of errors on your credit report that are dragging you down, but how do you start? More » -
craigslist
"Help, I Fell For The Apartment Rental Credit Check Scam!"
Since posting an article about Craiglist apartment listing scams a month ago, we've heard from lots of people who fell for the scam. If you're one of them, here's what you need to know. More » -
credit card reform
CARD Act Includes Limits On Not-So-Free Credit Report Ads
A less-reported provision of the CARD Act, the credit card reform bill signed by President Obama on Friday, puts limits on ads promoting that old Consumerist nemesis, "free" credit reports.
The law calls for the Federal Trade Commission to issue new rules that will force free credit report advertisers to inform consumers that the only place for a free credit report is AnnualCreditReport.com.
Television and radio ads will also be required to include a pretty deflating statement: "This is not the free credit report provided for by Federal law."
YAY! Wait, though. That's not the funny part. More »
-
internet marketing
Easy Weight Loss And Free Cash: A Dubious Product Online Marketing Empire Revealed
I started out looking at the advertising and affiliate practices of one company, CreditReport America, and learned that the company that owns this site apparently produces a solid majority of the ads on the Web that annoy me.
Meet Just THINK Media of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, and their online empire of dubious products. Magic weight loss tea, free government grants, acai and red wine pills, colon cleanser, free credit reports...if there are incessant ads for it everywhere on the Web, they probably sell it. More »
8:00 AM on Wed May 13 2009
By Laura Northrup
6,602 views, 35 comments -
craigslist
Scammers Advertise Fake Apartments, Want Your Real Credit Information
UPDATE:If you're a victim of this scam, read this article to learn what to do next.
My friend Amanda is looking for a new apartment, and last week she responded to an appealing ad on Craigslist. There was no apartment, though...just a credit report scam that's showing up in more and more cities. More »
-
credit reports
FTC Launches Own Singing Credit Report Commercials
As we've said repeatedly, AnnualCreditReport.com is the good website to go to when you need to pull a credit report, because it's actually free. The others, including freecreditreport.com, use the promise of free the way an angler fish uses its forehead-worm-thing to trap dumb little fish. The FTC has decided to fight fire with fire by releasing its own jingles. To be honest, we're not 100% sold on them—they have kind of a squaresville, PBS vibe, which is gonna really hamper their viral power. Check them out below. More » -
freecreditreport
Yet Another Reader Scammed By FreeCreditReport.com
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. More » -
freecreditreport
FreeCreditReport Hires Ed McMahon To Rap In "Viral" Videos
We're warning you now, so that you won't bother to fall for the "you-gotta-see-this!" absurdity of an 85-year-old former talk show announcer and sweepstakes pitchman reduced to self-mockery in order to make some money. We don't begrudge McMahon his career, but as you know we deeply begrudge "free"creditreport.com for its misleading name, commercials, promises—well, pretty much everything. More » -
-
annual credit report
Consumer 101: Get Your Free Credit Report From "Annual Credit Report.com"
You've probably seen those commercials featuring a friendly looking jackass and his factually inaccurate songs about what can happen to you if you don't check your credit report. It's true, checking your credit report is a good idea, but you can avoid subscription-hawking pay sites and, instead, go to AnnualCreditReport.com. More » -
freetriplescore
FreeTripleScore.com Will Cost You $30 Per Month
The rip-off site "freecreditreport.com" has a new competitor, and it's running fear-mongering spots on the "we'll air any commercial" cable nets (by which we mean G4). Freetriplescore.com warns you that your credit score can keep you from getting a job! But they'll give you you "free" scores from the big three credit reporting agencies if you sign up for their $30 per month membership plan. Remember, the only "free" credit report website you should ever use is AnnualCreditReport.com. For free credit scores, on the other hand, check out Ben's post. -
security
FreeCreditReport.com Doesn't Practice Good Security Hygiene
You'd think a credit monitoring service—even one as skeevy as freecreditreport.com—would take great pains to keep up the appearance of security and confidentiality. You'd be wrong. When Brian called to cancel their service he was asked to call out his social security number and his mother's maiden name, even though it turned out they could easily access his account and cancel his service with only his phone number and birthday. Oh, and the first CSR hung up on him, but (sadly) that's not really very newsworthy anymore. More » -
credit reports
This Is Why You Don't Use FreeCreditReport.com
Jesus from South Texas signed up for credit monitoring at the notoriously scammy FreeCreditReport.com. He never received the confirmation email and wasn't able to access his account, so he never used it, but forgot to call to cancel it. After three months he realized he was being charged $15 a month as per their terms of service, so he went to their site to retrieve his login credentials and was told the account didn't exist. After that, it took him 4 calls to get the account canceled, and they would only refund him for one month of service. One of their CSRs tried to scare Jesus into keeping the account open because there had been some "suspicious activity" in his credit history that he'd be wise to monitor. Then they told him there is no phone number or email for their "customer satisfaction department"—it can only be reached through snail mail. More » -
badvertising
FreeCreditReport.com (And Their "Funny" Commercials) Sucks
This commercial for "FreeCreditReport.com" is not only somewhat inaccurate, it advertises a service that is NOT FREE. More » -
complaints
With Vigorous Cane Shaking, America Responds To 20/20 Story
Of all the complaints that flooded our inbox following our 20/20 appearance, this is our favorite. More »
- 1
1-15 of 15 for "freecreditreport"
