Free Credit Report.com scam alert Nationwide California
I went to freecreditreport.com. They advertised a free credit report with no strings attached & no plans to be mandatorialy signed up for. They required an active credit card # as part of the set up information. They clearly state that you may choose to get their service, or not. It is further stated that there would be no charges placed bt rhem to the credit card. I work for a major Visa company & know that companies someimes run a $1 test of accts. & that it falls off the acct. when not followed up by the merchant. They presented it as such a test.
I began to get Emails from them, pestering me to join their program, I assumed. I never opened any of them & just deleted them as junk mail.
One day about 3 months later I noticed a charge on my card for $14.95 & assumed I bought something & didn't recognize it. I forgot about it & one day about 3 months later I decided to pay the credit card online & noticed the same charge was there again from the same company in California, for the same amount. The credit card site offered a search engine that could isolate all charges at the exact same price. The search produced 5 charges of $14.95 for $75. The next day I called the phone # that was on the charge and the phone was answered by identifying the company as Freecreditreport.com. I was put on intermal hold, but hung in there & eventually as customer service rep from overseas came on & asured me that I had failed to respond to the email they had sent me stating that if I didn't say NO in no uncertain terms by X amont of days/hours that I was agreeing to some contractual relationship.
I am not a lawer, but I know enough law 101 to know that they can't unilaterally bind me to a contract in that way without my consent, or without any input from me that I had recieved the comunication.
I disputed the charges with my credit card company. My work with a major Visa Card Company helped me to proceed correctly with the dispute proceedure.
I went to Google & searched for complaints about freecreditreport.com & found pages & pages of the same story, over & over again. Freecredit report said that they wouldn't charge me anymore & so far they haven't, but many of the complaints I found on the Web said that they began charging people's accounts again later. I have no evidence to substanciate that, but I am keeping a close eye on my acct.
I urge you to avoid Freecreditreport.com, and if you are also burned by this scam, call them up & don't hang up no matter how long they kep you on hold.
Call your credit card company & put the charges into formal dispute.
Mike
holiday, Florida
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Well..
#2Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
You don't need to embelish your credentials, as it does not add anything to the report. The simple fact is that you DID NOT read the terms of the "free" credit report.
It states right on the home page and the page you enter your credit card information in that you are enrolling in a Credit Monitoring Service. It also states that if you do not cancel within a set amount of time your card WILL be charged.
From their Home Page
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple AdvantageSM Credit Monitoring. If you don't cancel your membership within the 7-day trial period**, you will be billed $14.95 for each month that you continue your membership.
ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. and Freecreditreport.com are not affiliated with the annual free credit report program. Under a new Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. To request your free annual report under that law, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com.
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As to what you are calling a "scam"
-They state that you are enrolling in a credit monitoring service - Yet you missed that and still signed up.
-They sent you e-mails - You just ignored them
-They charged you one month - Yet you "assumed" it was something you forgot about so you let it go.
-They charged you for 3 months before you noticed enough to investigate.
Now, I am by no means an expert who works at a "Major VISA company". But I know enough to not sign anything unless I understand the details. I don't give out my credit card Number unless I am sure of what it is for. I also keep track of my accounts and would not have "assumed" that a mysterious charge was something I forgot about.