Free Credit Report.Com Is Not Free it Has a Catchy Song, but Has a Hidden Cost
Free Credit Report .Com is Not Free -You Have to Sign Up for $14.95 A Month
There is only one site that gives you a free credit report once a year, this is mandated by federal law that site is Annual Credit Report.com - Their link is at the end of this article.
The government has started its own campaign to let consumers know that the only credit report that is free is from Annual Credit Report.com. The comericials are done as a parady to Free Credit Report.com. A band is singing, but this time about how other free credit report sites can scam you. It is actually funny, and it is aimed to be catchy and get the word out, which is - this site is going to cost you..
Free Credit Report.com has become a hit from their catchy tune and funny lyrics. I hum it around the house when ever I hear it on the TV or radio, I am sure others do too. The song is lip synched by the actor, Eric Violette who works in a seafood restaurant and drives a junky car, along with all the other problems he has because he married someone with bad credit.
The commercial song comes from Dave Mulhefeld, who works for the Martin Agency, the group of advertisers that did the Geico gecko and caveman. Smart people, they know how to capture the publics eye and ears.
The advertising is great and it has given us many sixty second vignettes that we have actually enjoyed. The problem is that Free Credit Report.com is not free; in fact it can be quite expensive.
A federal law mandates that the three biggest credit report companies that all credit inquires go through have to give each person a free credit report every year. There is only one site that is set up for an absolute free credit report and that is Annual Report.com. There are no strings attached to this one.
How Free Credit Report.com works, besides having their song stuck in our heads:
You do get a free credit report from them, from all three credit reporting companies that the US uses. But.....you do not realize that you are signing up for their credit monitoring for $14.95 a month, until you get your credit card. It is a legitimate credit monitoring that they offer, but you do not realize this until your credit card bill comes. It says you can cancel at any time. Most people do not realize the charge is on the bill for a few months because it is so small. Channel 5 news did a story on this and it interviewed people who had called in for the free credit report service. One man said the charge had been added to his credit card bill and it took him three months before he realized it.
Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the three major credit reporting companies. One of these companies is used by all the creditors you do business with. If you really want a free credit report that will not cost you anything, then go to Annual Credit Report.com
Published by Roz Zurko
Roz is a published freelance writer originally from Milford CT, a bedroom community for New York City. She writes full time from home in MA. She attended New Haven University and Graduated with a degree in... View profile
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- Free Credit Report.com is not free and costs $14.95 a month
- New commercials by the government will be singing songs to watch out for sites like these.
- There is only one site to get a free credit report and the link is here.
12 Comments
Post a CommentRoz, if there is anything free left in this world, I'd like to know what it is!
this is very interesting
Terrific information, Roz! It's important for people to realize where they should go.
Just like you said, annualcreditreport.com is the only free one I use.
The commercials are catchy, thanks for the info... :o)
Yes, the FTC is starting to look into these services as well they should. Who was more shady during this recession: Banks, credit card companies, or credit reporting companies? Hard to tell. good article
Lorraine, your credit rating does not go down when you pull your own information. It's called a soft pull, so monitoring your credit doesn't hurt you. It's best to know what's going on.
Way to expose, Roz.
Your credit rating goes down when you, or anyone else, even asks for your credit report. On top of that is false advertising that it's free. I feel better just ignoring my credit report.
Great reporting! It's so important to expose scams for what they are.