Freecreditreport.com is a scam - details inside

You may have seen the commercials on TV from "Freecreditreport.com." They have been convicted of fraud by the FTC at least twice now; I would advise you to not do any business with them. What they do is provide you with your "free" credit report but sneakily sign you up for their monthly credit monitoring "service" without notifying you that you have been signed up or that they will be siphoning funds from your bank account. In fact, when you login to your user account on their site there isn't even an option to "cancel" from your user account, and there is no billing info, etc. So, you would never know that they were billing you!

If you have used them at all in the past, I suggest you file a complaint now before the company folds or goes into hiding. I'm posting this info on the forums I visit to save people some legwork. They've already given refunds as a response to ~1,500 of the complaints filed against them through the BBB. As an Irvine, CA based company, the web address for the BBB that they fall under is: http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/General/Home.aspx More information about complaints that the BBB has received about them can be found at: http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Bu...D=13062929&sm=

I'll quote the most relevant court cases:

Quote:

Agency: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Los Angele
Description: On August 15, 2005, the FTC filed suit against the company alleging that the company deceptively marketed "free credit reports" by not adequately disclosing that consumers automatically would be signed up for a credit monitoring service and charged $79.95 if they didn't cancel within 30 days, in violation of federal law. The suit also alleges that the Defendant's practice of causing the annual $79.95 charges to be assessed for payment without the consumers' express, informed consent causes, is likely to cause, or has caused, substantial injury to consumers that is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition. In addition, the suit claims that from December 1, 2004 to at least March of 2005, Defendant failed to disclose or to disclose adequately in their advertisements or on their websites that the "free" credit reports they were offering were not associated with the annual free credit report program pursuant to the FACT Act, but rather a commercial promotion, and that consumers cannot obtain their statutorily-mandated free report through the company's websites.

To settle the suit, the Defendants, without admission as to the allegations in the complaint, agreed in part, to be permanetly enjoined from: misrepresenting expressly or by implication that consumers can obtain a free product, program, or service at no cost or obligation, or misrepresenting the amount of any charge or fee. The Defandants must also disclose in their advertising the fees associated with the service, its terms, and that under federal law you have the right to receive a free credit report available at www.annualcreditreport.com and that they are not affilliated with the annual free credit program. The Defendants were also ordered to provide refunds to any consumers who qualify and enrolled between November 1, 2000 and September 15, 2003. In addition, the Defendants are to pay $950,000 as disgorgement of profits and any refund checks that are not cashed as to the consumers who qualify are also to be remitted to the US Treasury.
Date of Action: 8/15/2005

Agency: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Washington
Description: On January 8, 2007 Consumerinfo.com entered into a Stipulated Judgment and agreed to an Order for Permanent Injunction to settle charges that the company's "free credit report" offer failed to explicitly disclose that subscribers would be automatically signed up into a paid credit-monitoring program.

The FTC charged that ConsumerInfo.com had engaged in deceptive marketing practices through requiring credit card information for consumers to purchase their "free credit report," then billing them $79.95 annually unless they opted out within 30 days. ConsumerInfo.com was also charged with violating the terms of a previous settlement with the FTC over similar practices in August 2005. The previous settlement required the company to pay $950,000 in penalties, as well as requirements for prohibiting the company from engaging in deceptive business practices.

The 2007 Order requires that the company more clearly disclose the terms and conditions of their services. The company agreed to pay $300,000 in Civil penalties, and is prohibited from advertising any of its services as related to the free annual credit reports consumers can receive each year from the major credit bureaus, under the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Order was entered without admission of guilt or wrongdoing by the company and was for settlement purposes only. Upon entry the Order was finalized.

Date of Action: 1/8/2007

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It's okay, no GFF member would have a use for credit reports anyway...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It happened to me. I was just curious. Mommy wrote them a letter (it was on her card ) and they credited her back. Needless to say I was relieved.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

People need to realize you get one free credit report a year anyways.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Bigblah

It's okay, no GFF member would have a use for credit reports anyway...

College loans (though this doesent apply for me).

eh, with all the shit I havent paid for I was curious to see my 'score', being a scam I wonder how much shit went down as my SS# flew around the internet.

I was speaking idiomatically.

"Free credit report dot com!"

I knew there had to be a catch.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It sucks that you have to pay extra if you actually want to see what your score is (when you go through the legitimate channels). I don't have anything negative on my report, but I don't have tons of credit lying around either, just a credit card and a car payment. I wonder how high that makes my score.

How ya doing, buddy?

All I do is make the full payment on my card every month, and my score is in the 700's, if that tells you anything.

http://freecreditreportdotcom.ytmnd.com/

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I guess this is on the subject, but I hear that if you keep checking your credit report, your score goes down.

So just to clarify what Kat said, I think you get a certain number of no-risk checks per month. It's best not to check if if you're sure that your credit is good.

I don't think anyone I know fell for this scam, but just in case, I'll spread the word to the other forum I'm in. Thanks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Wait, so you're saying I shouldn't take financial advice I hear over the radio? Okay, good call.

no actually this is a very good post, I'm just being facetious because lol free*.com

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You can get credit reports from any bank relatively easily, and it's probably a better way of going about it than anything available on the internet.

It's a bad idea to check your credit scores too often. In the screwed-up world that is consumer credit, every time you access your line of credit in any way, even just to get your score checked, you get reprimanded. It hurts your credit score to get a credit check.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Youch! Hidden $80 annual fee. I always thought if someone had the money to pay for commercials they would be at least somewhat trustworthy. What a stupid view, haha! Glad I never had to check my credit report.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Wait, is this the same company that sponsored that race team in Nextel Cup NASCAR...? (Ok, why am I asking this question on the forum.... like who watches NASCAR?).

Anyway, yeah, wouldn't trust them anyway. Surprised they had money to sponsor or even advertise on TV...

I was speaking idiomatically.

In my experience on the web, ANYTHING advertised directly as Free, isn't.

"I'm thinking of a number between 5 and 10, knows what it is? It's your prison term for Fraud!"

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by a lurker

Wait, so you're saying I shouldn't take financial advice I hear over the radio? Okay, good call.

no actually this is a very good post, I'm just being facetious because lol free*.com

Well, freeipod.com worked. =P

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Will

Well, freeipod.com worked. =P

That was a pyramid scheme; those are different beasts entirely.

The thing about credit that strikes me as funniest is that signing up for those financial responsibility classes that teach you how better to manage your funds sends your credit rating straight into the toilet. Even though you're taking active steps to make yourself handle your money better, credit companies take that as a massive red flag.

My solution is to never touch the things. I have a debit card through my bank, and that's all I need. If I can't afford it, I don't really need it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Monkey King

The thing about credit that strikes me as funniest is that signing up for those financial responsibility classes that teach you how better to manage your funds sends your credit rating straight into the toilet. Even though you're taking active steps to make yourself handle your money better, credit companies take that as a massive red flag.

It makes sense doesn't it? If you do get educated, you're liable to pay your credit cards off and not use them as much anymore. Such responsible behavior is very unprofitable for the credit card companies.

By the way, we are given a free credit report annualy (by law i think) and everytime you apply for credit and are rejected.
The website for that is annualcreditreport.com

And for the people who say most people on GFF dont need it, ever heard of Identity theft? Everyone should do it once a year...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by K_ Takahashi

College loans (though this doesent apply for me).

Going to school WOULD be pretty silly when you don't even have a home or prospects, I guess.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

lol..I went to the site because it looked familiar. I guess because of the lawsuit they "warn" people(if you're color blind. Don't think it will help. The fonts are in light blue and on a "darker" blue background) on the front page that they're not the ones who provide the free annual reports and that they do charge you 14.00 a month. But still the url is pretty much deceptive.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Though really...who didn't see this coming a mile away? I mean the site wasn't 'free' so there had to be some sort of catch like the others were saying.

Needless to say my mom almost fell for it until she saw that you had to pay to get the actual report.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I have an account with them... I've never been able to check my report though. Always something like "unable to bring up report". I haven't been charged any hidden fees, I check my balance very often, don't think I'd miss 80$ or more being sapped from something other than my website bill.

I was speaking idiomatically.