Is FreeCreditReport.com A Scam?
The intent of this article is to provide information on the services offered by FreeCreditReport.com. We will give an overview that will inform the reader and assist them in deciding whether, or not, the service would be a good choice for them.
By now, we all know the TV commercials. We remember their little jingles, and nearly everyone has heard of freecreditreport.com. But we are presenting this information due to a number of negative customer feedback, a lot of confusion, and two very frequent questions.
Do I really get my credit report for free? Is freecreditreport.com a scam?
Freecreditreport.com is an affiliation of Experian. There are three major credit bureaus in the United States. Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian (which used to be T.R.W.) This means that freecreditreport.com is actually partly owned by one of the credit bureaus.
However the service that freecreditreport.com actually provides is called credit monitoring. Most experts agree that having a credit monitoring service is an absolute necessity if you really want to protect yourself against identity theft. Every year millions of people fall victim to identity theft and it is increasing. If it has happen to you, or someone you know, then you already know it can cause a multitude of problems. Fixing it to get your credit report corrected can be a nightmare. A credit monitoring service will alert you immediately if an inquiry is made on you, if someone pulls your credit report, if a new account is attempted to be opened with your info, etc. You can then catch it before it causes you problems.
Freecreditreport.com credit monitoring service is called Triple Advantage. It is $19.99 per month. As long as you are a member of the service you will have unlimited access to view your credit report 24hrs a day. Once you sign up, you have 7 days to cancel to avoid the charge at all. Even if you miss that 7 day period the company says you can cancel anytime and avoid any continuing charges.
Which brings us back to the original questions: Is your credit report really free at freecreditreport.com? We say the answer is no. Because if you don't sign up and pay for the monitoring service then you don't get your credit report. Is freecreditreport.com a scam? The legal answer would be no. Freecreditreport.com says the monthly credit monitoring fee is only for that monitoring service. Getting to view your credit report is totally separate, and there is no charge for it.
What many people say is wrong is that they believe freecreditreport.com and their advertising is very misleading. We have examined all of their TV advertising, and we found that just like the car commercials, the prescription drug commercials, and others, freecreditreport.com puts all the basic disclaimers require by law in very small print during the commercial. Then right before it ends, a very fast talking announcer says "Offer applies to enrollment in Triple Advantage"
We've concluded that the bottom line is they are a company that has a website name which is bound to lead to mass confusion. Some may say that is wrong and other may say that is very clever marketing. Either way they are clearly benefiting from that confusion.
But it is also creating a lot of angry consumers and customer complaints. Because the overwhelming majority of people who see the commercial and then immediately jumps on the freecreditreport.com website are not looking to sign up for a monthly credit monitoring service. They obviously just want to get their credit reports.
This has caused so many complaints that the FTC (federal trade commission) got involved. The government is now requiring freecreditreport.com to be clearer about their services. You would never know that by watching their exact same TV commercials. But the website does have a difference where there is a disclaimer at the very top of the page that is very hard to miss.
But there are other options all together if you are someone who just wants to pay for your credit report and nothing else. It is also offered by one of the other credit bureaus, Equifax. It gives you're the option of a one time only charge for your credit report.
We hope this information has been a benefit to you. Our only intention was to try and provide some answers to the questions concerning freecreditreport.com. And to inform consumers that other options are available to them.
Consumers Info USA reviews surveys, and customer feedback, to provide links to the best online services. For more information on credit reports, the importance of knowing what is on your credit report, and a link to order your report for a single, one time price, go now to: http://www.consumersinfousa.com/order_your_credit_report.html
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