Free Credit Report Dot Com

Free credit reports allow consumers access to their personal credit ratings. All too important in an age of credit and identity theft. Checking our credit report information has been drilled into our heads as TV and radio advertisements convince consumers that proper and persistent vigilance is their best defense against fraud and personal ID theft. According to one company we hear from regularly, we have an ability to check our credit report as often as we like, if we chose to do so.

Free Credit Report dot com.

Just like any fast talking, hope you don't read the fine print, ads that play on commercial weary minds each evening, Free Credit Report dot com hopes you pay more attention to the three guys playing their catchy little tunes than you do to the fine print at the bottom of the screen. As if anyone actually has time to focus onto the blurred script before it disappears. Most are more than likely watching the antics on the screen and listening to the toe tapping little ditties anyway.

The message Free Credit Report dot com wants us to focus on.

We are instructed to be concerned with our credit report because if we aren't, we could end up with a wife who had defaulted on her credit cards before the marriage took place or waiting tables looking like a pirate in some fast food restaurant. We could end up working at a renaissance fair or perhaps get stuck not with the car of your dreams, but some clunker that everyone on the street laughs at and you keep getting stuck to the vinyl seats. All valid points if your credit report looks like winter temperatures in the Midwest in January. The commercial is certainly correct, we need to keep watch over our credit reports. Our credit report can affect not only if we get the loans we applied for, but how much interest we will pay on those loans. A bad report can determine whether we enter into a cell phone contract and it could even cost you that cushy job you just applied for. Right or wrong ways to use our credit report, but that's the way it is and consumers have no other option but to comply.

What Free Credit Report dot com hopes we miss on the commercials and their website.

At the end of the commercials, a hurried statement tells us we will have to accept a package and enroll in something called TripleAdvantage. Newer commercials tell us this is a subscription. No mention, however, what you will have to pay for this subscription. Their website is more specific. Upon requesting your "free credit report," you are entered into a 7 day free trial. After 7 days, unless you remember to cancel your subscription before the trial period is over, you will be billed $14.95 per month. Of course you can cancel at anytime, but do not expect a refund of the current month's membership fee. In other words, your credit report is only free if you agree to sign up for a membership. Free Credit Report dot com is one of several sites who claim they will provide you a credit report free, but only if you buy what they want to sell you. That's not free.

Who owns Free Credit Report dot com?

Experian owns Free Credit Report dot com. Consumer advocates claim Experian is unfairly targeting anxious consumers and trying to convince us we need to subscribe to their service in order to adequately protect ourselves. It will not improve your credit score nor will it undercut your ability to fight identity theft by checking your report each month or more often. The Federal Trade Commission slapped Experian on the wrists in 2005 and 2007 for deceptive advertising with fines totaling $950,000 and $300,000. After that, a disclaimer was added to the Free Credit Report dot com commercials informing consumers of a 7 day free trial before monthly fees would kick in.

Free credit report that is completely free.

AnnualCreditReport.com is an FTC (Federal Trade Commission) mandated website that will happily provide you with an absolutely, no strings attached free credit report at your request once a year. A new amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the three credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to provide any consumer their credit report every 12 months when it's requested. This is federal law.

How often do I need to check my credit report?

If you subscribe to a monthly service, once a month. After all, you are paying for it. However, unless you are planning on buying a home, a car; any expensive purchase where you need to apply for a loan, job hunting or thinking about getting a cell phone, you don't need to be constantly checking your credit report. Once a year is sufficient unless you suspect your credit report has been compromised. Your credit score can move up and down from day to day and some people can become unnecessarily concerned or even frightened by the fluctuations on their reports thinking their credit score is not good. A good score is 700.

FreeCreditReport.com is not a free service nor is it necessary to check your credit report monthly. Don't be fooled by three cute guys with a song on their lips to scare you into a service you don't need. Check your credit report each year with AnnualCreditReport.com and relax. It's appropriate, will give you peace of mind and protection and it's completely free.

Check Your Credit Report, AARP.org

FreeCreditReports.com Scam, Consumer Fraud Reporting

Arthur Delaney, Free Credit Report: How The Ads Soak Consumers, huffingtonpost.com