Complaint / Review
CIC Credit Monitoring / Experian
CIC Credit Monitoring, Experian Let Someone Charge MY Credit Card for Services without Validation Ripoff

I have read some of the other data about CIC Credit Monitoring and know that they "trick" people into not reading the fine print and realizing that there is no "free lunch" at FreeCreditReport.com and their 100s of other websites.

That is not my story.

I found charges on my Credit Card for Credit Monitoring which I did not order. After the obligatory "phone tree" and calls into "Customer Service" I was connected to the security department.

After some tension due to my desire to convince the "Supervisor" that I didn't need to start at the "There are Three Credit Bureaus" level, the call and followup was cordial.

The problem was, EXPERIAN, in allowing the ordering of services, did so with an INVALID Expiration Date on the CARD NUMBER SUPPLIED (Mine), AND without checking the CSV (the 3 or 4 digit code on the back).

What this means is that someone can go on one of the EXPERIAN sites, punch in any old valid credit card number (or mis-type their real number), then enter ANY Expiration Date and the CHARGE will be STILL BE ACCEPTED by the system.

Fortunately, the individual who probably fat-fingered the card number DID order "their credit data" (or at least not mine) with the transaction.

I deal with credit bureaus in my business, and it continues to amaze me that these companies we trust with so much do such a REALLY POOR JOB at even the basics!

I can't order a magazine subscription with an invalid credit card sequence - but data from a CREDIT BUREAU, who is IN THE BUSINESS of "authentication" — NO PROBLEM!

This is a flagrant violation of several laws in place to safeguard consumers from fraudulent charges.

EXPERIAN should be sued, big time!!!

OH, Yeah and since EXPERIAN gave me the name of the individual who had used the system and THEIR ACCOUNT NUMBER, If I WAS UP TO NO GOOD, I could have probably gotten THEIR personal information.

Beware. Learn all the websites that EXPERIAN uses like FREECREDITREPORT.com and don't use them. Read the FINE PRINT. There are better (and less expensive) credit monitoring services out there.