Experian Forces $14.95/mo enrollment with FreeCreditReport.com to get your score! Costa Mesa, Internet
I went to Experian.com simply to get my current credit score. They claim they will give you a full report, including your score, for only $1. This is outrageous, because they are supposed to be doing this for free. I also noted that getting the score also enrolled you in a monthly "plan" that cost $14.95/mo and that I would be charged unless I cancelled in 7 days. I know about this scam that all the credit reporting agencies use (claim it's free, but enroll you in a "plan"). But I figured I'd just immediately cancel and no harm done (except for the $1).
It all worked. I got my score. Then I called the 800 number and I got an agent who canceled my plan, after a lengthy hard-sell and an offer to keep me enrolled for 2 years at half price.
What really got me, however, was that when he hung up, he said, "Thank you for calling FreeCreditReport.com" !!!
That means that Experian is using the con artists at FreeCreditReport.com. They are taking inquiries for your credit score, which are supposed to cost you nothing, then charging you a dollar, and then FORWARDING your personal information and an enrollment to FreeCreditReport.com. They do not disclose this on the website. They make it seem like it's a plan that is from Experian.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Max
Philipsburg,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Experian is one of the three
#3Author of original report
Tue, February 22, 2011
Fair enough, we are not entitled to our FICO score under the Federal Law.
Beyond that, I stand by my claim. Experian is indeed one of the 3 credit reporting agencies that
AnnualCreditReport.Com routes you to when you get a free report the "correct" way.
I knew this in advance, and knowing that, I went directly to one of the "big 3" instead of using the portal address at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Stand Corrected:
I should expect to pay the $1 to get my FICO score because that's not supposed to be free.
Stand by my initial assertion:
It is very misleading to go to Experian's web site, pay the $1 for my score,
be aware of the automatic enrollment service that I have to cancel, and then discover
that they are passing enrollments over to FreeCreditReport.Com. That is
sneaky and deceptive.
Flynrider
Phoenix,Arizona,
USA
Do your homework.
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, February 18, 2011
" I know about this scam that all the credit reporting agencies use"
Apparently, you do not.
"They claim they will give you a full report, including your score, for only $1. This is outrageous, because they are supposed to be doing this for free. "
That's not true. Federal law requires that the credit reporting agencies give you one credit report free every year. Credit scores (either FICO or someone else's) are do not fall under this provision. If you want a credit score, you have to pay for it.
Your basic problem here is that you assumed that this website was were you go to get your federally mandated free credit report. A little bit of research would have told you that the site approved for this purpose by all three reporting agencies is called : annualcreditreport.com
You will not be asked for a debit or credit card number to get your free reports. That is one way to be sure you're not going to be charged for something you don't want.