# Free Credit Report - Bullshit! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 6, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929 "2010-02-06T16:41:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BKReporter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@BKReporter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BKReporter)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/21 "2010-02-07T14:47:34Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I like their commercials. I love the one about the Renaisance (sp?) fair. Everytime that one comes on I have stop what I am doing and just enjoy the moment. I keep hoping they will do one based on a star trek or scifi convention. If I were a prisoner at Guantanamo and they wanted me to talk, there would be no need to waterboard. All they’d have to do is play these commercials for 10 minutes and I’d be telling them everything I know. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/22 "2010-02-07T15:22:05Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > In this timely [story](http://consumerist.com/2010/02/experian-sued-over-deceptive-freecreditreportcom-ads.html) from just a few days ago, there’s a class action suit currently underway against Experian (the people behind [FreeCreditReport.com](http://FreeCreditReport.com)) for deceptive business practices. > > The FTC has tried slapping Experian down in the past for these ads, and has issued about $1 million in fines, but Experian makes so much money from [FreeCreditReport.com](http://FreeCreditReport.com) that it just pays the fines and carries on. The last time i read about this, Experian was raking in about twice as much as its three biggest competitors _combined_ in the credit reporting business, and almost all of it comes from [FreeCreditReport.com](http://FreeCreditReport.com). > > The FTC recently solicited [input](http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/freecredit.shtm) from the public about how to improve their own real free credit report site, [AnnualCreditReport.com](http://AnnualCreditReport.com), and also about **how to rein in the scammers**. They can either 1)persuade Congress to increase the fines to a level that actually deters the crime or 2)sit with their thumbs up their asses, secure in the knowledge that, in the absence of (1), nothing they do will matter for squat. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/23 "2010-02-07T15:53:26Z")
> [@BKReporter](#): > > If I were a prisoner at Guantanamo and they wanted me to talk, there would be no need to waterboard. All they’d have to do is play these commercials for 10 minutes and I’d be telling them everything I know. I take it you arent a fan of the “Its my money, I need it now!”, the JK Harris, or Bender and Bender ads either 🙂 There truelly is no accounting for taste is there? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/24 "2010-02-07T17:48:28Z")
J. G. Wentworth stopped advertising several months ago-not sure why. The “opera” one alone must have cost a fortune… ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/25 "2010-02-07T17:54:40Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Yes, I think that most people realize it. I just would love to stop the practice, and have something that’s labeled free actually be free. I want free to have a specific meaning by law. If it’s a bonus, or an added value, then that’s what they should say. But free should mean free. I’m with you. It’s not free if you have to buy something to get it. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/26 "2010-02-07T18:43:02Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I’m with you. It’s not free if you have to buy something to get it. you don’t though - you’re signed up for a service which is free for 30 days. after that time, only then are you charged ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/27 "2010-02-08T00:08:29Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > you don’t though - you’re signed up for a service which is free for 30 days. after that time, only then are you charged That’s not what I was referring to. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/28 "2010-02-08T02:51:40Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > you don’t though - you’re signed up for a service which is free for 30 days. after that time, only then are you charged Which means it wasn’t free in the first place. Your payment was just time-delayed. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/29 "2010-02-08T03:02:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Which means it wasn’t free in the first place. Your payment was just time-delayed. No. Speaking as someone who did this :smack: you can use the service for the first (in my case) 21 days and then cancel. This leads to no charges on your account, and in fact the folks at freecreditreport were quite nice about processing the cancellation (unlike for example the worthless bastards at Vonage). They are not using time-delaying billing; they do not charge you for the first bit. Now I suspect that they make tons of money from people who don’t cancel for a couple of months, but that’s a different thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/30 "2010-02-08T03:44:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Which means it wasn’t free in the first place. Your payment was just time-delayed. you are free to cancel within the 30 days and not incur any charges. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/31 "2010-02-08T04:54:46Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > I used them once to get a look at a “free” credit report. But it also signed me up for a $14.95/month credit monitoring service… Sorry, but IT didn’t charge you for anything. You willfully gave your CC info and hit a submit button once or twice at least. You didn’t follow up with the cancellation until how many months went by at $14.95? Once would think that one would keep an eye on their emergency fund a little better. If you captured your cancellation info including transaction ID’s you have a case for getting your money back. If not, well… I fell for the same thing years ago if it makes you feel any better. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/32 "2010-02-08T13:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] J. G. Wentworth stopped advertising several months ago-not sure why. The “opera” one alone must have cost a fortune… [/QUOTE] They’re still going at it - I saw the opera spot on Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/33 "2010-02-08T14:51:31Z")
I run from everything that is “Free” or “No Risk”, they aren’t and there is. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/34 "2010-02-08T16:41:02Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > What does this mean, the cancellation didn’t go through? If you cancelled it, it’s cancelled, right? And if they kept charging you anyway, seems like you might have a case against them for something or another. Burden is on the OP to prove that he cancelled, and he presumably didn’t bother to write down the cancellation number or he’d be on the phone with Experian instead of posting here. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/35 "2010-02-08T17:08:21Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The conservatives won’t be happy with this suggestion, but I’d love to see a law that anything that has “free” as part of the advertising must provide that good or service for free. I’m not sure that marketing departments are exactly a bastion of conservative thought. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/36 "2010-02-08T19:01:45Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Yes, I think that most people realize it. I just would love to stop the practice, and have something that’s labeled free actually be free. I want free to have a specific meaning by law. If it’s a bonus, or an added value, then that’s what they should say. But free should mean free. Nothing’s free, and I have no clue why you would want to mandate such a hyper-restrictive use of the term in commerce. Most people can deduce that “free” in the context of a commercial transaction does not actually mean gratis. There’s no point changing the law for the few people who cannot figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/37 "2010-02-08T19:04:09Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The conservatives won’t be happy with this suggestion, but I’d love to see a law that anything that has “free” as part of the advertising must provide that good or service for free. Not “free with purchase” or even “free and you have to decline to sign up” but FREE, no strings attached. Anything labeled as free must actually be free. There can be restrictions such as “one per person” or “one per person per month”, for instance, but the good or service cannot be connected with any sort of charge or fee. > > I see advertisements that say that this or that product is “free with purchase”. That’s not free. It’s a bonus, it’s not free, the price of the product has been added to the price of the required purchase. Anyone who asked for the free product would not be able to get it without forking over some money for the purchase. It’s just a marketing ploy. That’s pretty good idea, protecting the language from violence. Let’s go further, and stipulate that you can’t charge money to people whom you have labeled as a “guest,” or for anything that you’re calling a “gift,” or for anything that you’re calling “an invitation.” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/38 "2010-02-08T19:24:40Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The conservatives won’t be happy with this suggestion, but I’d love to see a law that anything that has “free” as part of the advertising must provide that good or service for free. Not “free with purchase” or even “free and you have to decline to sign up” but FREE, no strings attached. Anything labeled as free must actually be free. There can be restrictions such as “one per person” or “one per person per month”, for instance, but the good or service cannot be connected with any sort of charge or fee. > > I see advertisements that say that this or that product is “free with purchase”. That’s not free. It’s a bonus, it’s not free, the price of the product has been added to the price of the required purchase. Anyone who asked for the free product would not be able to get it without forking over some money for the purchase. It’s just a marketing ploy. Why would a conservative be against truth in advertising? Why even bring politics into it? FTR, I completely agree about the “free means free” logic. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/39 "2010-02-08T19:47:41Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Why would a conservative be against truth in advertising? Why even bring politics into it? > > FTR, I completely agree about the “free means free” logic. Well, there are at least two kinds of conservatives. Ones that are generally pro-business/pro-rich. The reasoning and justifications for them come after the fact. And ones that believe in actual principles that TEND to be pro-business/pro-rich as a side effect. Or at least principles that tend to not be anti-rich/anti-business. The former IMO tend to be possers that are often appear to be the later or try to paint themselves as such while laughing all the way to bank. The later generally have no issues with truth in advertising or product labels or fair business practices and things of that ilk. The former not so much. And, I think it would be nice if folks here considered that it is fairly likely the “conservatives” that post here are of the later category even though they may appear to be of the former category. Just an opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929/40 "2010-02-08T20:05:11Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > The later generally have no issues with truth in advertising or product labels or fair business practices and things of that ilk. The former not so much. And, I think it would be nice if folks here considered that it is fairly likely the “conservatives” that post here are of the later category even though they may appear to be of the former category. Just an opinion. I don’t necessarily think you’re a “faux” republican/conservative-of-convenience if you have strong beliefs about government regulation/intervention/nannyism in regards to product labeling (and government regulation at large). They would tend to prefer “free market” solutions to this. This would be in contrast to your claim that they wouldn’t have any problems with “truth in advertising” laws/rules/regulations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-credit-report-bullshit/527929.md?page=3)