I thought it would be a good idea to check my credit score and heard legislation had made such a check free. FreeCreditReport.com seemed like the obvious place to start. "Free" is in the title after all.
Of course, after the first month you are automatically signed up as a member. They began charging my bank account $12.95 monthly. The automatic debit was titled alternately Triple Advantage or cic*ce credit report. Not having any idea what it was I Googled it and found FreeCreditReport.com referenced on usacomplaints.com.
I returned to the website and logged in (because I was a member, even if an unknowing one) but was unable to cancel my "membership" through my account. The Contact Us button led me to a phone number. The number is 1-877-481-6826.
My first call was a phone tree that ended by hanging up on me. The second was a lengthy wait on hold before talking to an actual person. While she was very nice she spent the whole time trying to convince me to stay a member. "You've already paid for this month, you might as well use it. Call back at the end of the month if you want to cancel."
Use what? How can I use this service? I am not even sure what being a member does. It monitors my credit score? I was paying someone to without my knowledge for something that doesn't do anything.
When I told her that I was willing to wave my paid month of membership so that I would not have to call again, she said that I would receive an e-mail within two hours confirming my cancellation. I did. The e-mail was a pleasant letter from Experian (the host company?) that said they were sorry to see me go. I had no idea I was such a valued customer.in fact I had no idea I was a customer at all.
After rechecking, the website does explain that membership begins with a thirty day free trial. I just didn't understand getting my free credit report was grounds for membership. I am sure that all of the language and fine print on the website make this perfectly legal. But it is misleading and underhanded. They were stealing money directly from my account, and I only realized it when the rent money came up a few dollars short. What a scam.
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