Freecreditreport.com is a misnomer.
The website lures customers with its bold headline: "You've seen the commercials now get America's #1 Free Online Credit Report!" The "Free Online Credit Report" includes your credit score from one credit reporting agency, Experian. There's a bright gold button right under the headline. Clicking it enables you to receive that free credit report and score. But beware!
The light-colored, small print in the box below the headline contains the most important information. Read it or you'll be in for a surprise.
According to the boilerplate, the moment you click that gold button for your "free" report and score, you have automatically enrolled in a fee paying membership program called Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring. The "free" report is simply a teaser to catch the worried debtor.
The website FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) explains that you'll receive your "free" credit report and score when you sign up for a "free" (there's that word again) "trial of Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring." Although the FAQ states that the credit information will appear "seconds" after you enroll, it also gives three reasons why this might not happen. Technical difficulties could cause a delay. The site may not be able to verify your identity. And, most puzzling, your credit report may not appear because "the credit reporting company does not return a credit report."
You have seven days to cancel the Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring Service, which costs $14.95 a month plus sales tax. The FAQ contains the telephone number for cancelling: 1-888-829-5560.
For the "Free Online Credit Report" to be free, you will have to negotiate some tricky timing. Your credit data must be available within the seven-day trial period, and the site has a built in delay to counteract this.
The website is owned by Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the U.S.
If you decide to join the Triple Advantage Monitoring Service, there are several advertised benefits. You'll be able to view your credit report from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, and even enroll in a text messaging component. In addition to this, the site advertises "email alerts of key changes and potential identity theft to any of your 3 credit reports." A Score Tracker is another service. However, credit scores are only reported from once source: Experian.
The Freecreditreport.com site is a promotion that could end up costing the consumer almost $200 a year. While the service may appeal to those with rising fears of identity theft or who wish to keep daily tabs on their credit information, similar services are available for free through the major credit reporting bureaus, including Experian.
The FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) provides that a consumer may request and receive a free credit report under certain circumstances. Your credit report is available for free once a year (twice a year in Georgia). And, anytime you are denied credit, you're entitled to a free copy of your credit report.
Lastly, you can request that the major credit reporting agencies initiate a "fraud alert on your credit account at no charge. This mechanism is designed to thwart identity theft. Most of the major credit card companies also provide this service, notifying their customers when an unusual charge occurs.
It's ironic. The Freecreditreport.com site gives consumers a practice at reading between the lines and avoiding rip offs the very same thing that the website is supposedly guarding against.
Here are a few consumer advocate websites that you will want to view and there's no hidden charge:
Annual Credit Report - the official site for requesting your yearly credit report: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Fight Identity Theft: http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/
Social Security Administration site on identity theft: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm
Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm