Free Credit report.com - not so free

[unh_hockey]

You know those lovable band members with that not so catchy song about a yearly free credit report? Yeah, so do I.

For my secret security clearance application, the SF 86 form recommends a credit check. Lying on government forms is typically grounds for instant disqualification so I decided to play it safe and go to a check. I read the fine print which stated that a recurring membership would ensue if I didn’t cancel. I cancelled that day. Thankfully my score was nearly perfect, and no outstanding debt - My score is north of 720 so I didn’t need any more elaboration.

Flash forward 10 days to today when I find out they charged me 30 bucks. I evidently clicked on something that was an extra option to compare my score with 3 companies. Having seen I had better credit than 95% of the united states initially, I had little interest in pursuing extra information and was content filling out the SF86 form to its completion. What they don’t tell you is that when you visit that part of the web page, you would be charged for it. No warnings, and the fine print must have been…..very fine. I don’t even know what I clicked…

So me being me, I am making a post about it to warn people to never use this service. Its riddled with pitfalls and traps to swindle your money without any notification. What could have started out as 1 dollar could have easily been 1$ dollar, plus 30$ for the link, and another 20$+ dollar membership or 50 dollars which is a 50 fold increase from what they advertise. If this doesn’t delineate just how dishonest and desperate these abhorrent clowns are, I don’t know what does.

I filed my complaint for freecreditreport.com with the BBB and will continue to fight the bill - not so much on actual dollars but on principal. Setting an example and making them work for the money will possibly discourage these practices.

Thanks for listening and tell your friends, and everyone you know to never use this service. I take great pride in knowing that the money they made off of me will pale in comparison to the future earnings they have lost because of my big fat mouth ( or in this case, keyboard).

 

[unofan]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

You know those lovable band members with that not so catchy song about a yearly free credit report? Yeah, so do I.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp is the real one where you can get your credit report from each of the 3 major bureaus for free each year.

You won't get the associated score, but you do get the report itself. And you can do so every year.

You're also entitled to a report if you're ever turned down for credit.

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp is the real one where you can get your credit report from each of the 3 major bureaus for free each year.

You won't get the associated score, but you do get the report itself. And you can do so every year.

You're also entitled to a report if you're ever turned down for credit.

Thanks for beating me to the punch - I was going to post that exact web page so if people did want their score, they could go there.

At a fault of my own ,I didn’t do the diligence here. I was in a bit of a rush to get my financial section complete on the SF86. There is no doubt that many people are taken in such a manner. I should have googled the web site and found the hundreds of pages talking about what these guys do.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

As a general rule I assume anything that advertises as "free" is a scam.

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

As a general rule I assume anything that advertises as "free" is a scam.

It was the first website that came up on a google search, and I wanted to get my report out. I fault myself as much as them.

I forget who said it in historical text but they said what you did ' always hate that which is free', or the common saying ' abhor the free lunch'.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

Also, if you suspect you may have been a victim of identity theft, you can file an initial fraud alert online at Equifax's website. This will entitle you to one free credit report from each of the 3 bureaus. Equifax will also automatically notify the other two bureaus of your fraud alert as well.

 

[French Rage]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp is the real one where you can get your credit report from each of the 3 major bureaus for free each year.

You won't get the associated score, but you do get the report itself. And you can do so every year.

You're also entitled to a report if you're ever turned down for credit.

Yeah, you get the report for free and if you want the score it was usually cost say $10 or so for a one-time charge. The thing unh_hockey is mentioning the always trying to sell you at the 3 bureaus where I think you get both the check and the score, and can keep coming back and looking at the score more times, but really how frequently do you really need to check the score. It's best just to get the free check once and year and shell out a few bucks for the score if you want to see where it is; if it any time they try to get you to do the "sign up for a subscription and cancel once you're done" thing, you clicked on the wrong link on their page, so go back until you find only the free check.

 

[ScottM]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

And don't be dumb enough to buy your credit score, unless it's included with a monitoring service. Credit bureaus' scoring is not generally what most lenders use to determine your creditworthiness.The products Fair Issac (FICO), Equifax, etc., sell to consumers is not what they also peddle to lenders. Moreover, most larger lenders will use their own proprietary scoring models to make a final decision. These models may using third-party scoring data as an element of the underwriting but most are not based solely on your FICO score, whatever flavor the lender is using.

For most consumers, checking their credit reports on an annual basis, using the site unofan linked, is enough. Pull one of the three bureaus' every 4 months or so to check for mistakes, fraud, etc. If you're a victim of ID theft you can have a fraud alert put on your report, and many states will allow you to place a "freeze" put on your reports too.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

At the end of the commercial, they ALWAYS say, "Offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage."

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

And don't be dumb enough to buy your credit score

I was admittedly rushed and basically bought it without even knowing it. Having seen my credit was okay, this was sufficient, but they made it very unclear that going to one part of the web site would charge you. As admiral Akbar said , ‘it’s a trap’

I was interested in significant outstanding debts as this is what one must disclose on a security clearance. I had none. Likewise, my balance on all loans and Credit cards was 0 and paid. This was really all I needed in order to complete the clearance questionnaire. Again, I would have just answered the questions had it not been for the severity of “lying” on these forums - ergo pulling my credit crap.

As a diversion, I do not believe in credit score. It’s a scam sold by the credit companies to try and get people in line to be more ‘debt worthy’. Notice how that has gotten us in the past 20 years? Real great huh? I could care less about my credit score outside of this instance where it meant a long term well paying career - and even than I didn’t really need it given my sterling record with payments and never having debt. If I ever decide to purchase a house, that might be the only other time in my entire life I ever plan on taking out a loan. Even that is questionable at this point in my life , so in reality, my FICO is very worthless to me.

Again, this long thread was nothing more than to serve as a warning to anyone who is pulling their score. First and foremost, use the link UNO posted earlier as this is more than enough. If you happen to use another web page, just be very careful and not fall for their dubious traps. Further research suggests that there are a lot of people going after this particular company ( subsidiary of Experian I believe).

The more people I reach, the more people will not sign up!

 

[Rover]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

As a general rule I assume anything that advertises as "free" is a scam.

That's the basic message you get at the massage parlor when they offer you additional services....

 

[walrus]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

I'm surprised nobody said Duh when seeing this thread title

 

[unh_hockey]

Re: Free Credit report.com - not so free

I'm surprised nobody said Duh when seeing this thread title

Given my propensity towards Machiavellian literature, I’m not sure why I am at all shocked either. At this point, its just about beating the dead horse just to mitigate future business for these guys. Sometimes threads like this pop up on random google searches…