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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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13

FTC Takes on 'Free' Credit Report Minstrels

Latest showdown between Feds and credit bureau goes viral

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(Newser) – A long-running battle between the Federal Trade Commission and credit bureau Experian has blossomed into a viral video showdown of sorts. Experian runs FreeCreditReport.com—beneficiary of the cheeky slacker music video/ads. The FTC thinks—rightly, in the opinion of many—that the company is intentionally diverting consumers from the actual free reports on AnnualCreditReport.com. So they made some videos, too.

Turns out Experian will give you that free report on the condition that you sign up for its monthly monitoring service, which makes them money and does you little good. “Does the average person really need to see their credit reports more than once every four months?” an advocate asks the New York Times, citing the frequency of free reports mandated by law. “That’s paranoia.” Of course, most consumers get wise to the uselessness of monitoring sooner or later, hence the ubiquitous ads, and the FTC riposte.

A shot from a FreeCreditReport com ad.
A shot from a FreeCreditReport com ad.   (Boosh4205212)
The FTC's riposte to the Experian ads.
The FTC's riposte to the Experian ads.   (Federal Trade Commission)
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An AnnualCreditReport.com commercial, produced by the FTC.   (BrightStarCU)
A freecreditreport.com commercial.   (jack2016)

View larger videos >>
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We had these roaring debates, saying you can’t call it freecreditreport.com because it’s not free. We had put them on notice. But the money spoke louder. - Evan Hendricks, former member of Experian consumer advisory panel

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13 comments
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stacysaw
Nov 3, 09 11:03 AM CST
AMEN, please stop these clowns! i needed to check my report before applying for a home loan, and ended up paying for the "free credit report." i think they can get away with calling it that b/c they are legally entitled to show you your report once a year for free. but - the report they give you for free is basically just your score. for any of the info you'd want to know, correct, verify, etc. ya gotta pay up. the ftc has my support on this one. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
DJM420
Nov 3, 09 11:21 AM CST
well, read the fine print next time. no different than a car add: 220 a month (model shown 550 a month). dont get pissed when you go to the dealer...
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
Stasis
Nov 3, 09 11:30 AM CST
@DJM: That would be the opposite of "free". "Free" is an adjective that means "at no cost". When you say something is "free" and then charge people money for it, that would make you a f*cking liar. And the Credit Report band should be executed live on PPV in scenes acted out from the "Saw" series. And it should be as painful and as drawn out as possible. Like maybe 4-6 hours of excruciating and painful death...
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+3
RobN
Nov 3, 09 11:07 AM CST
Maybe the FTC should just do a better job of informing people about the availability of the free credit reports and maybe this whole problem just goes away. Reply
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0
Fondue
Nov 3, 09 11:38 AM CST
What took so long? Oh yeah, greed ran rampant for the last 8 years. Could someone give a better budget? This commercial sucks and needs to be noticeably different than the ones that have been ingrained into everyone's brain. Reply
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+1

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