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We’ve all seen their ads on TV and elsewhere. You even sing their jingle (unintentionally) in the shower sometimes. Have you tried their service? Do you know the full picture?
Well, having tried several programs and somewhat of an expert in the field (if I may say so myself, ahem), I’ve also checked out the free credit report program offered by freecreditreport.com and while some don’t know about it, some like it, and others hate it, here’s the real, unbiased scoop on them.
It’s pretty much like most of the other programs out there where you get your free credit reports (from all three major bureaus which you can get for free anyway – see earlier post) and they also throw in the credit score (which you would have to pay for otherwise) all during the free trial period of their version of the credit monitoring service.
The trial period of the credit monitoring service is seven days, so if you find it useful. Great, keep it for as long as you want the service at a monthly fee of $14.95 (at the time of this post). If you don’t think this is what you need, you can cancel during the 7-day trial period and pay nothing. Either way the free credit reports and credit score are yours to keep.
Now, I see how some people call this a scam, but that’s really not the case. Everything is spelled out for you ahead of time so you are the one who decides if you want to get the freebies and if you wish to cancel or continue the membership. This is an accepted business practice in the 21st century. Magazine subscriptions are the same, all the monthly products by Readers Digest, Time-Life, etc., are all like this. So there’s no need to call something a “scam” just because you don’t read what you sign up for!
For me personally, I like the free trial offers because I know what I’m getting for free which I can’t get elsewhere. And if I really don’t want to continue their subscription, I make a note to cancel. And if I miss the cancellation date and get charged a month, big deal, I consider it my fault! And sometimes I like the subscription service and keep it for a while. It’s all personal preference. Isn’t it?
Hey there you have some great info on your site! Keep it up
Left by John on May 12th, 2009
I am SICK AND TIRED OF REQUESTING THEM TO STOP CHARGING MY ACCOUNT ON A MONTHLY BASIS FOR THIS “FREE” CREDIT REPORT. STOP IT NOW! THEY ARE THIEVES.
Left by Catherine on September 4th, 2009
yes, as described in this post, these services with “free” reports and scores such as freecreditreport.com and several others often have a continuity service they want you to sign up for. if you happen to not cancel before the trial is over, you are bound by the terms you signed up for, which is that they will charge you monthly for some credit monitoring service or whatnot. even if you got charged once already, you should still try contacting them and officially cancel the service so that it is stopped completely from that point on.
Then you can simply call your credit card and tell them to reverse the charges and do a chargeback. From my experience, my credit card company is always on my side and i was able to get even that first month charge reversed even though I had technically agreed to get charged if I didn’t cancel. Hope that helps!
Left by cyberandy on October 1st, 2009