Consumerinfo.com Aka Experian Information Solutions Unauthorized Credit Card Charges for Service I Never Signed Up-Result of "Free" Credit Report CIC Credit Monitoring AnnualCreidtReport.com all part of the same ripoff Irvine California
On 11/30/2004 I received an email from a co-worker referring me to an article at msnbc.com. The article was titled "Free credit report details announced" and Credit bureaus unveil AnnualCreidtReport.com site. The article was located at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6576905/?GTI=5807. Basically the article was about how consumers could go to this website and get one free credit report per year beginning December 1. The article also stated: Currently, a number of Web sites offer what are described as free credit reports, but all require trial subscriptions to credit monitoring services. The new Web site, mandated by federal law, will be marketing-free.
In fact, here is the mission statement from annualcreditreport.com:
This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure (italics and boldface mine) , commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can also request your report by phone or mail. Monitoring and periodically reviewing your credit report is an effective tool in fighting identity theft.
This is not true!!
It was this story at msnbc.com that prompted me to get a free credit report. I felt it was legitimate, especially coming from msnbc.com. Also, other co-workers who had gotten these free reports stated that you did not have to provide your credit card number to get the report: all that was needed was your name, address, and social security number.
On 12/30/2004, I went to AnnualCreditReport.com and clicked on the button to get a free credit report. I was taken to a page where it asked me for my full name, address, date of birth, and social security number. In fact, I had to create a user account there, which I did.
I was taken to a site that had surfcrawler.com at the top. I got a message that my free credit report would be emailed to me.
On 12/30/2004 I received my free credit report. I clicked on the link and was taken to a page where I could view and print out a hard copy of my free credit report. It appeared I was at surfcrawler.com but actually I was at consumerinfo.com.
On this web page, there was no indication that I was signing up for a trial membership nor that I would charged a monthly fee at a later time after the trial membership expired. There was no instructions on how to cancel a membership either. All I saw was my report and that in had been prepared by Experian. (There were 3 tabs in a row indicating the company name that had prepared the report: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Experian was highlighted.) There was no indication that I was signing up for a membership to anything, period. In other words, no fine print at all.
In fact, when requesting the free credit report, I did NOT even select the company to do the credit report; it was selected for me by the website. I believe annualcreditreport.com did it for me.
I also have learned that consumerinfo.com is owned by Experian Information Solutions, which was the company chosen for me to prepare my so-called free credit report.
On 4/4/05, I received my March VISA Card statement. On it I saw a charge that I did not authorize. The posting date was 3/2/05, the transaction date was 2/28/05, reference #6610, from CIC Credit Monitoring, 1-800-220-2626 in California, #36812931. I was charged the $9.95.
In checking my statement for February, I discovered also another $9.95 charge from CIC Credit Monitoring. Unfortunately I did not see this charge as it was during a time of great duressmy wife had miscarried and had undergone a D & C procedure at the time I received the February VISA statement.
I NEVER authorized consumerinfo.com to charge $9.95 to my credit card. I NEVER authorized or consented to a membership to this company. I was signing up to receive a free credit report and that was it. I feel that annualcreditreport.com and consumerinfo.com are in collusion to dupe the public into thinking they are getting a free credit report, while hiding the fact that you are signing up for a free trial membership for their services which rolls over into a paid membership once the free period has expired. (I think it is 30 or 60 days, but nothing was ever mentioned.) This is the very thing that annualcreditreport.com claims to protect consumers from, so I blame them too.
I did not receive any emails indicating that I had signed up for a trial membership and would be charged after the trial expired. I have NOT received any further credit reports, services or emails, so this company is trying to charge me for reports/services that I did not want in the first place and never received. I only requested the one free credit report and that was it. There was never any mention of fees or memberships that I would be charged for.
Gerry
Honolulu, Hawaii
U.S.A.
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12 Updates & Rebuttals
Donna
Walker,Louisiana,
U.S.A.
I got a total refund including overdraft charges caused by consumerinfo.com..........
#13Consumer Comment
Mon, September 05, 2005
AND IT CAME ON A CHECK FROM EXPERIAN!!! The checking account belongs to Experian. I am appalled that a company that is one of the credit bureaus that holds control of our credit score and whether we are able to obtain credit and the percentage rate we might get owns a company that had a F rating with the BBB when I filed my complaint for the same type crap that I went through. It's absolutely ridiculous and shameful on the part of Experian and I have lost any faith I had with the credit bureaus. Deceit going hand in hand with a credit bureau that holds our financial destiny in it's hand is simply unacceptable.
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Consumerinfo.com was ordered to pay a fine of $950,000 AND restitution to deceived consumers
#13Consumer Comment
Wed, August 24, 2005
Marsha,
First off, thank you for bringing this information to our attention. However, I wish to point something out.
Consumerinfo.com was ordered to pay a fine of $950,000 AND restitution to deceived consumers. That means they will pay back consumers their $79.95 in addition to paying the $950,000 fine to the FTC.
For anyone that wishes to read the press release on the FTC website, here it is:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/08/consumerinfo.htm
Marsha
Las Vegas,Nevada,
U.S.A.
You're both right
#13Consumer Suggestion
Wed, August 24, 2005
I first want to address the fact that annualcreditreport.com is a legitimate website that enables consumers to get a free credit report from each individual repository. I said free report, not free credit scores or free credit monitoring. Also not a free site for a tri-merged report (all 3 reports in 1).
Annualcreditreport.com is not to be affiliated with consumerinfo.com who happens to be owned by Experian and is also the parent company of freecreditreport.com.
The main reason that I'm bringing this to your attention is due to the fact that the FTC filed charges against freecreditreport.com and consumerinfo.com. The case was settled last week and consumerinfo.com (Experian) was ordered to pay over $900,000.00 in restitution to the consumers they defrauded. Another bit you may find interesting is that Experian is actually owned by a British company GUS. They are not even an American company!!!
Anyway, You can view the entire article at www.ftc.gov.
Hope that helps you all!
Credit Manager-Las Vegas
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
I have to disagree.
#13Consumer Comment
Wed, July 27, 2005
Gerry,
Again, glad you got your money back. It was unfortunate that you had to close your account to do it.
I must point out though that you are wrong about me. I by no means have faith in the CRAs. In fact, I probably hate them about as much as the next person. And I don't agree that they should hold information about consumers for such a long period of time. In fact, I believe sweeping reforms are needed for the credit reporting industry.
But, I must point out that you are making a false claim with your postings. Please read the following very carefully to understand which websites your are visiting, and who is scamming you.
The site www.annualcreditreport.com is the website that was created with support of the Big 3. It was mandated by Congress with the FACT Act. This website acts as the portal (key word here) to obtaining your one free annual report from each of the Big 3. As you progress through this site, you will eventually be linked to each of the Big 3's websites in order to obtain your report from each. The site www.annualcreditreport.com DOES NOT ask you for any credit card information. The ONLY information required is your name, social, DOB and address. THAT'S IT.
The next step on this site asks you to choose one or more CRAs to select for your free report. You can choose one, two or all three. It is from this point on where you leave www.annualcreditreport.com and are taken directly to the CRAs regular websites. Here is where you made your mistake. Somehow, you selected the wrong report, and got signed up for credit monitoring. Not your fault. It is difficult to tell which one is the free report.
Please don't get me wrong. I am in no way trying to discount your rip off report. You do in fact have a valid claim. I am merely trying to point out that www.annualcreditreport.com is not to blame. In fact, it is helpful in getting you your free annual report.
My advice to anyone using this website to obtain their free reports is this. If, once you get to the individual CRA websites, you are asked for any credit card or checking account numbers, GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. You have chosen the wrong report.
The free report is available at each CRA site, but it can be hard to locate. I'm sure the CRAs did this on purpose, because then situations like yours happen, and they wind up making money. This is another reason why I dislike the CRAs. Everything with them has to be difficult for the consumer, whether it be obtaining the free report, or worse, trying to get false information corrected.
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
I have to disagree.
#13Consumer Comment
Wed, July 27, 2005
Gerry,
Again, glad you got your money back. It was unfortunate that you had to close your account to do it.
I must point out though that you are wrong about me. I by no means have faith in the CRAs. In fact, I probably hate them about as much as the next person. And I don't agree that they should hold information about consumers for such a long period of time. In fact, I believe sweeping reforms are needed for the credit reporting industry.
But, I must point out that you are making a false claim with your postings. Please read the following very carefully to understand which websites your are visiting, and who is scamming you.
The site www.annualcreditreport.com is the website that was created with support of the Big 3. It was mandated by Congress with the FACT Act. This website acts as the portal (key word here) to obtaining your one free annual report from each of the Big 3. As you progress through this site, you will eventually be linked to each of the Big 3's websites in order to obtain your report from each. The site www.annualcreditreport.com DOES NOT ask you for any credit card information. The ONLY information required is your name, social, DOB and address. THAT'S IT.
The next step on this site asks you to choose one or more CRAs to select for your free report. You can choose one, two or all three. It is from this point on where you leave www.annualcreditreport.com and are taken directly to the CRAs regular websites. Here is where you made your mistake. Somehow, you selected the wrong report, and got signed up for credit monitoring. Not your fault. It is difficult to tell which one is the free report.
Please don't get me wrong. I am in no way trying to discount your rip off report. You do in fact have a valid claim. I am merely trying to point out that www.annualcreditreport.com is not to blame. In fact, it is helpful in getting you your free annual report.
My advice to anyone using this website to obtain their free reports is this. If, once you get to the individual CRA websites, you are asked for any credit card or checking account numbers, GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. You have chosen the wrong report.
The free report is available at each CRA site, but it can be hard to locate. I'm sure the CRAs did this on purpose, because then situations like yours happen, and they wind up making money. This is another reason why I dislike the CRAs. Everything with them has to be difficult for the consumer, whether it be obtaining the free report, or worse, trying to get false information corrected.
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
I have to disagree.
#13Consumer Comment
Wed, July 27, 2005
Gerry,
Again, glad you got your money back. It was unfortunate that you had to close your account to do it.
I must point out though that you are wrong about me. I by no means have faith in the CRAs. In fact, I probably hate them about as much as the next person. And I don't agree that they should hold information about consumers for such a long period of time. In fact, I believe sweeping reforms are needed for the credit reporting industry.
But, I must point out that you are making a false claim with your postings. Please read the following very carefully to understand which websites your are visiting, and who is scamming you.
The site www.annualcreditreport.com is the website that was created with support of the Big 3. It was mandated by Congress with the FACT Act. This website acts as the portal (key word here) to obtaining your one free annual report from each of the Big 3. As you progress through this site, you will eventually be linked to each of the Big 3's websites in order to obtain your report from each. The site www.annualcreditreport.com DOES NOT ask you for any credit card information. The ONLY information required is your name, social, DOB and address. THAT'S IT.
The next step on this site asks you to choose one or more CRAs to select for your free report. You can choose one, two or all three. It is from this point on where you leave www.annualcreditreport.com and are taken directly to the CRAs regular websites. Here is where you made your mistake. Somehow, you selected the wrong report, and got signed up for credit monitoring. Not your fault. It is difficult to tell which one is the free report.
Please don't get me wrong. I am in no way trying to discount your rip off report. You do in fact have a valid claim. I am merely trying to point out that www.annualcreditreport.com is not to blame. In fact, it is helpful in getting you your free annual report.
My advice to anyone using this website to obtain their free reports is this. If, once you get to the individual CRA websites, you are asked for any credit card or checking account numbers, GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. You have chosen the wrong report.
The free report is available at each CRA site, but it can be hard to locate. I'm sure the CRAs did this on purpose, because then situations like yours happen, and they wind up making money. This is another reason why I dislike the CRAs. Everything with them has to be difficult for the consumer, whether it be obtaining the free report, or worse, trying to get false information corrected.
Gerald
Pearl City,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
I STAND BY MY ORIGINAL CLAIM: ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM IS A RIPOFF
#13Author of original report
Tue, July 26, 2005
Thanks for your response.
I stand by my claim: if I hadn't gone into annualcreditreport.com, I would have never gotten into this mess. That was the only webiste I visited, yet I wound up getting charged for a service I never wanted at a website I never visited. You can't tell me that annualcreditreport.com is legit, because it is just a front for these scammers to obtain credit card numbers and then fraudulently charge people for a service they never signed up for. How convenient.
I question your faith in the "Big Three" because all of those companies, expecially Experian, have received numerous complaints against them. And your claim that it is backed by Congress means nothing, because these scammers have figured out a way to use the law to scam people. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody in Congress is receiving some sort of benefit from these "Big Three" and AnnualCreditReport.com, but that is my own opinion.
If you have a good experience with these scammers, good for you. But you cannot discount all the complaints these "Big 3" have gotten from ripping off people with their nonexistent services. And you cannot ignore the fact that I went into annualcreditreport.com and got scammed as a result. This so-called "Legitimate", "Government Backed" website is just a FRONT for Experian, Transunion and Equifax to scam the public.
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Glad to see you get your money back.
#13Consumer Comment
Fri, July 08, 2005
Gerry,
First, let me say I am happy to see the you were able to get your money back, even if you did have to do it through VISA, and then cancel that card.
However, I feel that I must again point out that the website www.annualcreditreport.com is not a rip off as you describe here. This is the website that was created and is sponsered by the big 3 credit reporting agencies as required by law by the FACT Act that was passed by Congress.
Since the reports come directly from each of the reporting agencies directly, you are eventually led to each of their individual websites. Since these agencies obviously want to make money, they will do whatever they can to try and set you up with some type of credit monitoring membership, or try to sell you your FICO score.
My advice to anyone who goes through this process is that any time you are asked for credit card or bank account information, immediately log out as you are not in the right place. You have to look very carefully at each site to ensure you are choosing the correct report (the free one). Sometimes it is not easy to decifer.
Please don't get me wrong. I am an avid reader of these reports, and try to help people as much as possible. In this case, I am just trying to point out where the rip off has occurred. Again, congratulations on getting your money back.
By the way, I saw the same article on MSNBC.com. That was how I found out about it too.
Gerald
Pearl City,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
VISA GOT THE CHARGES REVERSED! THANK YOU, rip-off report for your marvelous website and services!
#13Author of original report
Fri, July 08, 2005
GOOD NEWS! VISA was able to get 3 charges from this company reversed. (A few days before I logged a complaint, these bastards managed to add another charge on my credit card, so I wound up with three of them being dismissed.)
PLEASE NOTE: I did have to close my old VISA card account out and open up a new one, so make sure you do the same. There's no way you want these people to possess your credit card number, plus there seems to be evidence from others here that CIC et al will just keep charging to your account, even if you've requested cancellation.
My advice tp all of you--
GO AFTER THESE PEOPLE! Don't let them steal your hard-earned money! Even if it is only $9.95, DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT! If you do, they will just use your hard-earned money to scam more people!
Since this happened, I noticed these crooks mounting a super-aggressive advertising campaign on the radio and TV, advertising themselves as freecreditreport.com, annualcreditreport.com, experian.com, equifax.com. In my opinion, these are all run by the same group. And the only reason why they are thriving and able to mount this campaign is because of people who don't fight their fraudulent charges and "let it go as a lesson to be learned." SCREW THAT! You have to remember you did NOTHING to deserve this and there was no "lesson to be learned" in being a victim of a silent scam in which you are surreptitiously signed up for services you never wanted without your knowledge.
Be careful of internet news sites: This is how I got into this free credit report mess in the first place. MSNBC.com had an article announcing the "new" website, annualcreditreport.com and how people could now get a free credit report. My co-workers and I felt that if msnbc.com was reporting on this, it must be a good, legitimate thing. WRONG! It is obvious annualcreditreport.com/cic credit monitoring/experian.com, etc. PAID msnbc.com to have this report written. I even wrote to msnbc.com complaining about their article and how it was a front for scammers. Not surprisingly, I received no reply. I now view msnbc.com as worthless. I have come up with several more articles on various topics that were totally wrong or distorted and/or sloppily written.
THANK YOU, rip-off report for your marvelous website and services! It is folks like you that fight for us little people and serve as a valuable tool for others to find out about these fraudulent businesses.
Gerald
Pearl City,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
BEWARE WHEN YOU CANCEL
#13Author of original report
Thu, April 21, 2005
On 4/5/05 I called comsumerinfo.com at 1-800-220-2626 and spoke to Donna. She asked for my name and SSN and said she would check on the membership or account. She put me on hold, then came back in less than a minute and says she couldn't find any info on me and that she required the Visa number.
At that point I said NO because you folks have the number because you've been charging me $9.95 the last 2 months. Donna's tone changed and she became very rude. She said she couldn't complete my request of canceling the account because I would not give the VISA number.
She asked what website did you go into because there was no record of me. I said first it went into AnnualCreditReport.com which turned into Surfcrawler.com which became the embedded page from consumerinfo.com. She then said You must have the wrong website, and basically wanted to brush me off. I replied,
I got your toll-free number off my Visa card statement and why don't have my account number? She said, Well, like I said before, we need your Visa number to verify things, and that point I told her to forget it.
Basically she was refusing to cancel my membership. I hung up and dialed the toll-free number again and received the email address cancel@consumerinfo.com from a recorded message. Please note I had to go into the toll-free number to get this messagethis email address IS NOT on the customerinfo.com website.
I sent out a cancellation email at cancel@consumerinfo.com. Know what they did in response? They sent me the following email:
From: ConsumerInfo.com Customer Care [mailto:customercare@membershipmail.rsc02.com]
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 4:15
To:
Subject: Attention: Changes have been posted to your credit report
Your Credit Report Has Changed
*** This Alert Notification is a Members-only benefit of the CreditCheck Monitoring Service ***
Dear Gerald,
An important change or new information has just been added to your Experian Credit Report. Please log in to My Credit Center to view your CreditCheck Monitoring Alert now.
While you're checking your credit report, add your PLUS Score for only $3.99 to see if your score has changed. That's over 20% off! Take advantage of this offer now!
For security purposes and to protect your privacy, the details of the alert notification are not included in this email.
Remember, CreditCheck's Daily Monitoring Service can be your best defense against the devastating effects of identity theft. It is your early warning system which provides you with up-to-date information regarding new accounts that may have been opened in your name, inquiries into your credit history, and negative entries added into your file at a national credit bureau. In the event you see activity that could indicate someone has stolen your identity, you'll be able to take immediate action.
If, after reviewing your CreditCheck Monitoring Alert, you have reason to believe that fraudulent activity may be involved, call a Member Service Specialist toll free at 1-888-888-8553 (Monday-Friday: 6AM-6PM Pacific, Weekends: 8AM-5PM Pacific).
Sincerely,
Your friends at ConsumerInfo.com
As a CreditCheck member you have unlimited access to your credit report 365 days a year at no extra charge. If you haven't checked your credit report lately, now might be a good time to come back and take a look. Be sure to check your credit score while you're there. Be sure to take advantage of the limited time offer to check your PLUS Score for only $3.99, regularly $5.00, while you're there. Simply log in to My Credit Center to pick up your report and add your PLUS Score today!
********************** end of email****************
What a coincidence! I haven't heard from these people at all since...NEVER! After I cancel my account, instead of receiving verification of cancellation, I am sent another solicitation email.
This is ONE LAST TRICK consumerinfo.com/experian.com/annualcreditreport.com does. If you click on the links, they automatically sign you up for the $3.99 Plus score.
Also, the ripoff artists at consumerinfo.com want you to log into your account at consumerinfo.com to supposedly view the "changes" to your credit report. IF YOU RECEIVE AN EMAIL LIKE THIS AFTER CANCELLING, DO NOT DO THIS, AS CONSUMERINFO.COM WILL THEN CLAIM YOU REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO CANCEL; THAT BY LOGGING INTO YOUR ACCOUNT TO CHECK THE CREDIT REPORT, YOU CONSENT ONCE AGAIN TO BE CHARGED $9.95 A MONTH FOR THEIR NONEXISTENT SERVICES.
Gerald
Waipahu,Hawaii,
U.S.A.
Bank services stated they've had problems with CIC/consumerinfo.com
#13Author of original report
Fri, April 08, 2005
First of all, I want to address the rebuttal. I don't know when you logged into annualcreditreport.com, but if you did get any charges, I suspect they changed their policy by the time you got your reports. Also, I did the same thing you did, yet I wound up with unauthorized charges. I went through annualcreditreport.com NOT consumerinfo.com, so I blame that website as much as consumerinfo.com. Otherwise, how did I managed to get signed up for a membership I never knew about and did not want in the first place? My opinion still stands: I feel annualcreditreport.com is a front for consumerinfo.com aka experian aka CIC Credit monitoring to deceive people. I did the exact same thing you did in signing up for the free credit report, yet I along with millions of others, was also signed up for membership at a website I never visited.
It is my opinion that annualcreditreport.com selects people randomly for memberships when they generated the free credit report while people like yourself were spared. If they did this to every single person who signed up, it would be too obvious.
UPDATE:
In speaking to the bank card services who handle my VISA card, the account specialist stated that they were very familiar with CIC Credit Monitoring aka consumerinfo.com. She stated they have received a lot of complaints and disputed charges for this company. I commented on how many layers of websites CIC has (one of them being annualcreditreport.com) and she said that is how they mislead people as well. The main thing is this: I never once went into consumerinfo.com, yet I somehow got signed up for a membership. The blame has to go to the originating website, which is annualcreditreport.com.
I would encourage each and every one of you to dispute the charges from CIC Monitoring no matter how small they are. This company needs to be shut down. They have been operating in this manner since 2003, and it's time to stop them.
Patrick
Gilbert,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Annualcreditreport.com not a Rip Off.
#13Consumer Suggestion
Tue, April 05, 2005
Gerry,
It is unfortunate that you were mistakenly signed up for a membership with CIC, but Annualcreditreport.com is not a Rip Off. When this became available in December, I used it to get mine and my wife's reports from all 3 bureaus free of charge.
The problem is, when you get to the indvidual web sites for the CRAs, you have to be very careful which options you choose for your report. They will all try to sell you some type of service (FICO Score, Credit Monitoring, etc) in addition to getting your one free report. You must have inadvertantly clicked on an option other than the one to get your free report.
I was able to view all 3 of my reports immediately on line. Never was I asked for a credit card number (biggest red flag that you will be charged for something). I did not have to wait for them to be emailed to me.
My suggestion to you would be to contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. Do this right away as time is running out for the February charges. Then try to get ahold of CIC and do everything you can to cancel your membership.
Good luck to you.