April 13, 2010
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News: What Does It Mean; Free Credit Report
Most consumers are unaware of their entitlement to a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, as required by the Credit CARD Act of 2009. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has received a massive amount of complaints from consumers saying that they have been scammed by online businesses when accessing their online reports. Several businesses have used catchy jingles and aggressive marketing to obtain credit card numbers of unsuspecting individuals. The Federal Trade Commission has released rules that regulate how companies can market their produced while offering credit card customers their free credit report. Beginning immediately, companies must be transparent when making free trial offers.
The FTC has designated the AnnualCreditReport.com as the official website for credit card customers to obtain their free annual credit report. The site will give Americans access to a credit report for each of the three credit reporting bureaus. This website has been set up in to provide consumers a safe and transparent environment free from confusing advertising. Furthermore, the FTC's announcement noted that a number of websites advertise free reports but take advantage of credit card consumers by directing them to sites that sell a variety of products and services. These sites mislead and confuse consumers.
The FTC requires that any website offering free trials must be transparent and clear in outlining its free trials. Furthermore, if the credit card consumer wishes to cancel the offer, he should not have to face unreasonable obstacles. The consumer is reminded of his own responsibility in handling free offers and pay special attention to the time frame for cancellation. Although the FTC pointed out that Experian does a better job than most at warning the customer on its FreeCreditReport.com site, they will cease offering free credit reports. They will now cost the consumer $1. Consumers should remember that they are entitled to one free credit report from each credit reporting bureau annually. Additional reports will cost them.