As an example of how fast the Federal Trade Commission acts: 22 months after Grumpy Editor cited grumbles from TV pitches for FreeCreditReport.com, the FTC is warning that AnnualCreditReport.com “is the ONLY authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law.”
Grumpy Editor reported on Jan. 11, 2008 that the FreeCreditReport.com site is “getting heavy play on radio and TV these days” with catchy, toe-tapping commercials touting free credit reports, adding, “What’s interesting about the pitches is that the ‘free’ credit report service requires membership in Triple Advantage credit monitoring that costs $14.95 a month." (There also was reference to a Better Business Bureau site for interesting, mostly negative, “reviews” by users of the service.)
Confusion on “free” credit reports stems from the similarity in Web site identification.
The FTC’s Web site reported it has “received complaints from consumers who thought they were ordering their free annual credit report, but instead paid hidden fees or agreed to unwanted services.”
The stirred-up FTC this week released its own TV spots that spoof the group singing about “free credit reports.”
In one of the FTC-produced videos, a singer reminds, “AnnualCreditReport.com is the only one you can depend upon…all the others charge a fee.” See two FTC videos here.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees access to a free credit report from each of the three nationwide reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — every 12 months.
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