Starting Friday, April 2nd 2010, as part of the new CARD Act of 2009, companies advertising free credit reports are now required to clearly disclose that what’s being marketed isn’t the free credit report you’re entitled to receive by law.
The Federal Trade Commission provides consumers with one free credit report a year from each of the major reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Consumers can access their free report by going to AnnualCreditReport.com. But other sites that claim to offer free credit reports often come with strings attached.
Companies like FreeScore.com, CreditReport.com and, of course, the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com, famous for its catchy jingles and pirate hat-wearing pitchman, are not part of the government mandate and have been accused of deceptively charging consumers for unwanted services such as credit monitoring products once they sign up for their free credit report. Most of the companies charge around $15 a month for credit monitoring services.
According to the FTC, Web sites are now required to include this message across the top of any page mentioning free credit reports: “THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW. Read more at FTC.GOV. You have the right to a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228, the ONLY authorized source under federal law.”