Getting a Personal
Cash Advance in Spite
of Poor Credit
Don't Get Stuck With Unwanted Fees
Online search for credit report
can lead to 'free' offers that really aren't
by Lucy Soto
Type the words credit report into any online search engine and thousands of sites pop up, nearly shouting the word "free." In-boxes routinely get hit with e-mails offering "free" reports and credit scores.
But keep an eye on the fine print. With a few clicks, consumers can get stuck with unwanted fees and even a credit monitoring agreement that costs in the range of $14.95 to $29.99 a month.
Beginning in April 2011, the Federal Trade Commission requires its own fine print. Web sites that advertise free credit reports must include, across the top of each page, this disclosure: "THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Read more at FTC.GOV. You have the right to a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228, the ONLY authorized source under federal law."
The disclosure must include click-able links to AnnualCreditReport.com and FTC.gov. Rules for similar new wording for television and radio ads will take effect in September.
Complaints about these free-but-not-exactly-free reports have been pouring into Better Business Bureaus and other consumer agencies for years.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies --- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion --- to provide a consumer who requests it a free credit report once every 12 months.
Links for "free" credit reports litter the Web. In fact, virtually anyone can place a link, and links often are imbedded in places like blogs and college Web sites and in online classified ads that ask for credit reports to rent or sell a house.
Typically, the links are "affiliates" that lead back to major companies that sell credit monitoring or other services. That means the person who places the links earns money every time a consumer clicks through and is persuaded to pay for what was advertised as free.
Here's how FreeCredit Report.com, run by a branch of Experian, asks people to spread the word by joining its "affiliate team:" "Over 40 million people have ordered Credit Reports and Scores from FreeCreditReport.com. That amounts to many happy returns for our affiliates. Join today and start earning cash!" For each completed order, an affiliate link's owner can earn $20.
At competitor CreditReport.com, affiliates can earn $22 for each completed order through links all over the Web.
The money often comes from consumers who are drawn in by the offer of a free credit report and persuaded to sign up, most commonly, for ongoing credit monitoring for a monthly fee. Typically, the company promises to alert consumers of any irregularities in their financial reports.
Consumers should never have to provide credit card information or create an account to receive a free credit report. In addition, Cloud, with the state consumer agency, believes most consumers can monitor their own credit.
Consumers who believe they've been duped or have a bad experience can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or the FTC.
The Council of Better Business Bureaus, the BBBs' nonprofit umbrella group, weighed in on the new FTC disclosure rules in November. Rodney L. Davis, the council's vice president for programs and services, cheered the changes as a way to cut through consumer confusion.
Knowing how to get your credit information, keeping track of it and making sure it's accurate are important.
Credit report help
Here's the skinny on free credit reports:
- Under federal law, you're entitled to a free report from each credit agency:
- Once in 12 months, for any reason.
- If a company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance or employment, and you ask for your report within 60 days of receiving the notice.
- Once a year if you're unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days or if you're on welfare;
- If your report is inaccurate because of fraud or identity theft.
- Otherwise, a credit company may charge you up to $10.50 for each additional copy of your report in a 12-month period.
Order credit reports from each of the credit bureaus by contacting them directly:
- Equifax: 1-800-685-1111; equifax.com
- Experian: 1-888-397-3742; experian.com
- TransUnion: 1-800-916-8800; transunion.com
Credit scores:
Some consumers confuse credit reports, which are a file of financial information the credit reporting agencies collect on you, and credit scores. A FICO credit score, developed by Fair Issac and Co., is an indicator of a borrower's creditworthiness and many lenders use it as a basis on which to lend money. You have three FICO scores, one for each of the three credit bureaus, based on information they keep on file. The credit bureaus may charge to tell you that score.
You can get a free non-FICO credit score at these sites. But beware: you become an advertising target. The sites sell mortgage, financial and other services. To get free access to the score, you can decline their pitches.
- CreditKarma.com,
- Quizzle.com, or
- Credit.com
About credit reports: www.ftc.gov/freereports
Copyright 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution March
21, 2010 http://www.ajc.com/
BYLINE: Lucy Soto; For the AJC
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