My Experience Getting a "Free" Credit Report from CreditReport.Com

Like a lot of people, I care about my credit rating. I like to keep a close eye on it and usually check my credit reports at least once a year. The big three credit reporting companies, Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union, are charged with monitoring every American consumer's credit worthiness. Not so long ago, consumers had to pay each of these companies to see their credit reports and then wait for them to be sent in the mail. Thanks to the Internet, it's now much easier for consumers to keep an eye on their credit ratings. In fact, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act now requires that each credit reporting company annually supply every consumer with one free credit report. That's good news for consumers who want to maintain their credit ratings and prevent identity theft.

Now that consumers can have free access to their credit reports, credit reporting companies have had to find new ways to generate revenue. And, of course, other companies are getting in on the action by offering "free credit reports" to consumers. The first thing to know is that there is only one officially recognized Web site that offers free credit reports with no strings attached. That site is www.annualcreditreport.com. Unfortunately, because I am now living in Germany, I cannot access that site. It is only open to people who live in the United States. That's an unfortunate reality for Americans who are living abroad, but so be it.

Anyway, while searching for a place to get a "free credit report", I ran across a Web site called www.CreditReport.com. The site looked very official and stated in big bold letters that it was offering free credit reports. I guess it was a moment of weakness or distraction, but I went ahead and signed up, noticing that in order to get a "free credit report", I also had to enroll in a free 30 day trial of the site's credit monitoring service. I read the fine print and entered my credit card information anyway. I got my free credit report and credit score.

Later, I did some checking online, just to see what people were saying about CreditReport.com. To my great surprise, this site was the subject of many complaints. People had signed up for the free credit report, not realizing that they had also signed up for credit monitoring. Some disgruntled consumers were calling Mighty Net, Inc., the company that owns CreditReport.com, a scam, because it was charging them $10 to $13 a month for credit monitoring that they didn't realize they had signed up to receive. A few folks were upset because that extra $13 a month was causing them to have to pay overdraft fees because they didn't have the money to absorb the monthly fee. Some people were angry because they realized they had been charged for months and had only just recently noticed it on their credit or debit card statements. Most of the consumers who had written complaints were surprised and angry when Mighty Net, Inc. refused to refund their money. And many people were also dismayed that they couldn't seem to cancel their account by email.

After reading these complaints, I went back to the Web site and read through it carefully. It says quite clearly on the front page that those who choose to access their credit reports using that CreditReport.com will be enrolled in a free 30 day credit monitoring trial. Users must call the company to cancel and if that is done before the thirty days are up, they will not be charged. However, if users don't cancel the service, they will be charged, and the money will not be refunded. The site even had a FAQ section that spelled out how to get out of the credit monitoring service. The terms were plainly stated, yet so many people were complaining that they'd been hoodwinked. How could that be?

Personally, I think a lot of the people who were complaining were like a lot of ordinary folks today. They saw a deal that looked like something for nothing. They signed up and checked the box agreeing to the site's terms, not bothering to read through the pages of legalese. Then some of them became very busy with life and didn't notice that they were being charged for what they thought was a free deal.

A few days after I got my "free credit report", I called the company to cancel the free trial. I was a little nervous about it, since I had read so many complaints about people who'd had a hard time getting a human being on the phone. I was calling them from Germany, which also meant a big time zone difference. Happily, I managed to get someone just a few minutes after the company opened. The man who answered the phone sounded a bit bored and resigned when I asked him to cancel my free trial. He asked me why I wanted to cancel. I simply told him that I didn't need the service. There was no pressure after that. He asked for the last four digits of my social security number and that was that. The call took less than two minutes. A minute after we hung up, I got an email from CreditReport.com, confirming my cancellation with instructions on how I could re-enroll if I so desired. A couple of days later, I noticed the pending charge in my bank statement from CreditReport.com was gone, much to my relief.

Though I can understand peoples' confusion and frustration when it comes to getting free credit reports online, I also can't fault Mighty Net, Inc. for being crafty. There's an old saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted." Not reading the fine print in a business agreement is a foolish thing to do, but this company is obviously aware that in today's rushed environment, most people will still do it from time to time. We're busy and we want a quick fix. Hey, I can admit that I don't often read the fine print as closely as I should, either. Luckily, in this circumstance, it turned out my laziness was easily corrected. I just called the company and cancelled the service I didn't want. But sometimes, not reading the fine print can be very damaging. For instance, signing legally binding paperwork without reading it for a big purchase, like a car or a house or an apartment lease, can really get someone stuck in a bad deal. This situation was a great reminder of that tough reality.

So, here are some things I learned in my dealings with CreditReport.com, which I'd like pass along to my readers.

* Any time you're asked to provide your credit card for a "free" service, it's almost a sure bet that you're signing up for something for which you will eventually be charged.

* Very few things in life are completely free. It pays to always read the fine print, especially if a deal seems too good to be true.

* There is only one officially recognized Web site for accessing free credit reports. That site is www.annualcreditreport.com.

* It pays to look at your credit card and bank statements carefully each month for strange or unauthorized charges.

* If you do get hooked into a service you don't want, it pays to carefully and completely read and follow the instructions on how to get out of it.

* An excellent source for information about free credit report sites is the Federal Trade Commission's Web site at www.ftc.gov.

Unlike some of the people who access CreditReport.com, I knew that I was signing up for credit monitoring when I accessed the site. One thing I wish I had done before I signed up, though, was do a quick Google search for complaints about the company. Had I read some of the complaints first, I probably would have opted to simply pay for a credit report from one of the official Web sites run by the credit reporting companies. Though I'm not completely convinced that the credit reporting companies are completely sleaze free either, at least they are recognized for what they are and what they do. In any case, I don't think Mighty Net, Inc. is necessarily running a scam with its Web site, CreditReport.com. They do clearly disclose what they're all about. However, they are taking advantage of the average person's ignorance and laziness. That's a completely legal action on their part, even if it doesn't seem like a particularly kind thing to do.

I do think companies like Mighty Net, Inc. can offer consumers a valuable reminder for whenever they do business. It's up to each individual consumer to protect themselves against companies who are ruthlessly looking to separate them from their money. Don't be a fool. Read the fine print first, every time.