A couple of months ago, we blogged about how
FreeCreditReport.com is not free, but part of a monthly credit monitoring package ("Triple Advantage") that costs $14.95 a month.
The trouble is, most people don't realize that they're signing up for this service—they think they're just entering information to look up their scores. Even when customers see the charges on their credit card statements and complain, the company behind FreeCreditReport.com refuses all refunds.
But perhaps all of this injustice is coming to an end. Victims of FreeCreditReport.com filed a class action suit on Monday against Experian, the website's parent company.
The suit is spearheaded by lead plantiff Erica Possin, a female college student from Wisconsin who was sucked in by Experian's car-themed commercial, The Huffington Post
reports.
When I first heard about this lawsuit, I thought it was a triumph for the little guy. I mean, it sucks when companies scam customers into subscribing for a pay service without "sufficient notice," as the complaint's lead attorney has said.
However, I've begun to change my mind. I'll admit I wasn't interested in seeing my credit report until recently, but I did always notice that those commercials ended with "Offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage." Which, you know, sounds like a catch.
According to HuffPost, credit report companies will soon be forced to squeeze the phrase "This is not the free credit report provided for by Federal law," into their ads.
But that's just replacing fine print with more fine print. For me, credit report commercials are kind of like the ones for prescription drugs—there's a lot of fast-talking at the end, and I might not get every word, but it alerts me that I should not take the ad's optimistic tone at face value.
What do you think: Does Experian deserve to be sued? Or did the company simply (and legally) trick its victims?Note: If you want to look up your credit report for FREE (really), visit
www.AnnualCreditReport.com, a government sponsored site.
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Comments (24)
"Or did the company simply (and legally) trick its victims?"
this. i had a membership for a while and knew exactly what i was getting into BEFORE i signed up. i really can't say i have much sympathy for people who didn't bother to do 5mins of research.
I think neither of those questions are the answer... the people werent tricked into it - they were simply stupid enough to click 'agree' without reading what they were agreeing to! I got my free score from freecreditreport.com and canceled before I was charged.
I did recently check my credit report via the website that allows you to check once per year. You do not get the credit score, you only get to check the report. So I think the draw to see your score, brings many people to the experian site.
Yes they deserved to be sued. They do rip people off in the end by continually charging even when the ended the service or changed things & took money money. I never fall for these things in the commercials.
You can also check your credit reports with banks I've heard. I'm going to ask mine when I go next week.
They deserve to be sued so that they'll be less sneaky about the way they do things. I'm sorry, but trying to rip people off is not something deserving of any award. And yes, sure, the person in question should have taken five minutes to look around for what might happen - but then again, no, they shouldn't. They shouldn't have to. These companies should be blatantly honest. That's all there is to it.
They deserve to be sued. It took me almost THREE FREAKING YEARS to actually get my account canceled. Every time I called to cancel, they said it was canceled, and then charges appeared on my account under a different name. I FINALLY got it canceled last month, because I basically screamed at the woman on the phone who was literally refusing to cancel my account, and I told her I would sue the damn company so I could get all the money I need to pay off my debts if they wouldn't cancel my account right there on the spot. It was absolutely ridiculous and I'm still pissed about it. They're sneaky bastards.
@whitetrashpoet@xanga - should have called your credit card company and told them to refuse payment.
@Pcgecko85@xanga - They said they couldn't do that because I'd entered a contract.
But I hate my bank, too, so I'm not surprised. They've never been helpful.
There's a pretty simple way to deal with sketchy companies that don't understand the meaning of the word cancel. "Yeah, my credit card just got stolen... could you issue me a new card?"
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - dont you EVER attempt to call her stupid. ive known her going on 8 years she is not stupid in any way. so before bitching about others think how they are already being affected!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@weasel - Im not sure who the 'she' is that you are referring to. If you are referring to Sarah, you must not have read the post. She specifically states that she was suspicious because of the "enrollment in Triple Advantage" stipulation.
The statement is a blanket statement. Anyone who agrees to anything without first reading what they are agreeing to is stupid. Does everyone do it from time to time? Absolutely, myself included. That doesnt make it any less stupid.
I've used the site, but knew of the cost and canceled as soon as I got the report. What they were doing was misleading at best, they should be sued.
I got my credit report for free from them... you just have to unsubcscribe by a certain time (which they tell you) and you aren't charged. So, I dunno how they can be sued really... a lot of companies are somewhat misleading, but it's your own fault if you don't read the fine print honestly.
While I understand the emotional desire to see them sued, I can't say that legally, they deserve it. If you listen to the commercial, it tells you that it's free with enrollment in Triple Advantage, and if you enter your info on the website, and read the disclaimer before clicking, you would understand that you are agreeing to enrollement. It will be interesting to see what the courts decide. I could see them strengthening standards for the future, but will be suprised if they straight-up lose the case...
Its not really tricking you if they SAY in the commercials that you have to enroll in Triple Advantage to do it...even if they say it fast and not as loudly, they're still saying it loud enough for you to hear it. If you aren't paying attention, that's not really the company's fault. Whether or not that's right to do in the first place is more of a moral issue than anything. Is it RIGHT for companies to do that? Well, its up to the person to decide. And everybody will have a different answer. But, that doesn't make it illegal.
Also, I don't even think its necessarily false advertisement. I mean, the credit report itself is free, Triple Advantage isn't. If you want the free credit report, you have to buy into Triple Advantage. Sure, that might sound like and probably is just semantics on whether something is free or not, but a lot of times the law doesn't consider it semantics. :p
But, at the same time, I really don't feel sorry for the company getting sued. I mean, the way that they do it IS designed to trick you into not noticing it when they mention that you have to subscribe to Triple Advantage before you can get your credit report.
I went to FreeCreditReport.com once, before I realized that it wasn't free. But, when it looked like they were wanting me to actually sign up for something I'd have to pay for, I just clicked out of the window and didn't go back. :p
I was actually wondering how long it was going to take before someone decided to sue them. :p
I never went to the site because of I wasn't prepared to enroll in Triple Advantage. I think it is going to be very hard to win the case because they made it so clear in the commercials.
Of course, the plain English requirements aren't the real contract. Unless you speak lawyerese, you really don't have a clue what any agreement says. Once I learned that, I no longer look down on people who didn't understand their agreements.
They do deserve to be sued, though not exactly for the stated reasons. FreeCreditReport.com engages in outright fraud and theft. When I was 19 I used them to aquire a free report, then rescinded all service immediately after--well within the time-frame of the agreement. They billed me, so I called them and told them of their fraud. They cancelled my account but refused to return what they stole. Three months go by and I notice that amounts of money are being deducted from my account still.
At that time, I decided to record my call, and document everything. I further recovered phone records and online statments from my original interaction. Yet again, they claimed to cancel my account but refused to return what they stole. The next month when I was billed, I had my credit union refuse all transactions, and then threatened to sue with the evidence I had collected. I walked away with not only all of my money, but some minor compensation as well.
I hear people getting this dance from them quite frequently. This company is full of fraud, liars, and unashamed thieves.
The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.
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I took a free trial with Free Credit Report, and it was pretty obvious that the only thing free was the trial. I also canceled my trial as soon as I got the report, and was never charged for it.
I don't think they deserve to be sued because people can't read things for themselves. How the eff does a college student have time and money to sue a company anyway?
Thanks very much for sharing.
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