“Free” Credit Reports Have Strings Attached
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax – to provide a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. But beware the heavily-advertised FreeCreditReport.com, which is an imposter site created by Experian.
If you order your “free” report through FreeCreditReport.com, Experian will automatically enroll you in a credit monitoring service that charges a monthly fee, which is then difficult to cancel later. The FTC has received so many complaints about FreeCreditReport.com that they recently launched two of their own hipster videos with catchy tunes.
