Comments on: Your Take: Common Sense vs. FreeCreditReport.com

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:07:44 +0000

what a bunch of dumbasses

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:25:23 +0000

I signed up for this to check my own credit prior to applying for a new credit card. I signed up one day, applied (and approved) for the new card that same day, called and cancelled my service the very next day. I was only charged $0.99 for something (can’t remember exactly what) but I was never charged the monthly fee of $15 or $20 since I cancelled in time. If you are looking to get this service though, call and cancel it first. They’ll offer you a lower rate in an attempt to get you to stay. So if you really ARE interested in keeping the service, still call to cancel it because you will have to opportunity to keep it and pay a lower price

By: Technosorceror

Technosorceror — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:37:49 +0000

I notice several posts defending FCR. You cannot go through life reading all eula aggreements in the world, just going to the store you have to get ready to go out, read all care labels on your clothing and cosmetics, read that car manual checking all fluids, read all signs on the road including the swap meet sales and garbage stuff. Anyway it would take a week to get anywhere so you could read all the signs in the front of store. We seem to have lost track of the fact that these “free” sites are preying on people by portraying their product/service as something it is not. These sites are posing as clueless entities who have no idea that the whole business is a sham. If they had any confidence in their own service they would offer the free week trial then just pester you afterward to subscribe.

By: gtsankov

gtsankov — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:23:13 +0000

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure I should agree with…
I do agree that the EULA language should be simplified, BUT I can’t agree that people should remain uneducated. Regulating the sales and advertisements by law certainly limits the need of common sense and that’s awful.

I have a higher degree, consider myself smart, and still have fallen for scams. But that’s not the end of the world, and that’s what has helped me develop my common sense more than anything else!

I just thought of a good documentary, more or less related to the topic — ‘A Lawyer Walks Into a Bar’. Recommended!

By: eric

eric — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:54:04 +0000

I still get a slimy feeling from FreeCreditReport…they’ve gotten better but not out of their own general good will it seems.

By: jsbrendog

jsbrendog — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:57:01 +0000

“Never enter your credit card info for something that is advertised as free.”

this. “free trial” et all make me so skeptical. I understand sometimes for age verification if it is alcohol, naughty, etc., but mostly I am immediately clicking away with a no thanks.

By: jsbrendog

jsbrendog — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:55:14 +0000

yeah, it is not the same agreed. I did not know that it is usually lower. That makes me feel even better. For me, personally, it is high enough for me to be happy, but thinking the real one might add 10-20 points makes me want to jump for joy.

credit karma for me is a barometer. if i don’t like what it says then I get an official fico and find out why by going over my credit report. for now though, it is right where it should be.

i actually found out about it from here i believe.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:34:14 +0000

I’m a fan of being under that umbrella. Mainly, I know that things need to go a certain way, and for that to happen, someone has to watch to some degree.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:28:58 +0000

That’s how the man gets you. He puts everything in there, but twists it into some language full of terms that Lamon (or however you spell it) couldn’t even understand! Thanks for the link on the analyzer!

By: Shirley

Shirley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:11:09 +0000

I like that idea!

By: NewPerspective

NewPerspective — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:05:23 +0000

To add a twist to this, my wife and I alternate, allowing us to check in with one of the credit agencies every 2 months. Since many of our accounts are joint, this provides another way you can verify your credit over a broader period of time.

By: Strebkr

Strebkr — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:36:05 +0000

I wish Credit Karma showed a little more detail. Their scores seem to be about 10-20 points lower then your actual scores reported to banks. I know this because I bought a house last year and during that process we had a minor issue which resulted in a few rescores and we got to pull our credit scores almost weekly for 3 months. During that time the Credit Karma score moved in the same direction as the real score, but it was always lower. Its not the be all end all of scores, but its free and it helps you keep an eye on the direction of your score.

By: jsbrendog

jsbrendog — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:31:43 +0000

i signed up to get my free score before i knew about credit karma. and I cancelled on the 13th day, 1 before i had to. I had no problems. There was a page saying you were signing up and that you had to cancel in x days or would be charged x dollars. Honestly, if you cant’t handle that it is your own fault. I did this about a year ago and it was straightforward.

By: freeby50

freeby50 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:27:15 +0000

For Freecreditreport.com there is a history that is relevant. In 2005 the FTC sued them for deceptive practices and the company settled paying $950k for free reports and they agreed to stop using deceptive practices. And the statements on their website right now haven’t always been as prominent. Originally when this company came out they were a lot less forthcoming about their monthly charges and they simply tried to trick (or at least allowed) people to think their paid service with the government AnnualCreditReport.com site.

So this company is more like a criminal on probation than an innocent citizen.

By: kevjohn

kevjohn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:06:24 +0000

Same here! I fell for this a long time before they started in with those cute commercials. And if I recall correctly, I never even got my so-called free credit report out of it. I got some indecipherable document that bore no resemblance to a typical report we’re used to seeing. And then I neglected to cancel with them before their real “service” kicked in. It wasn’t much money, but I still felt ripped off in paying for something that I didn’t want or need.