I went to freecreditreport.com to get what I thought, naturally, was a free credit report. Once I realized it wasn't free, but after I had given them credit card info, they started charging my credit card. Not being diligent, I wasn't checking my credit card statement every month until one month, and then I noticed they had been charging my credit card for over a year 12.95 per month. They never sent me email or mail notices, and I, of course, never even got a credit report from them.
Anyway, I wrote them the below letter and got everything I asked for, namely, a "refund" for all of the charges they had charged me over the past 13 months. I will copy the letter below. Please feel free to use it. For what it's worth, I am an attorney, so I am sure that helped, but maybe it can work for you if the same has happened to you. Good luck.
Consumer Info/CRG
P.O. Box 19729
Irvine, CA 92623-9729
Re: (call them and get a reference # for your complaint)
To whom it may concern:
I have just gotten off the phone with a customer service representative of your company regarding the dispute with the above reference number. Unbeknownst to me, my credit card has been being charged $12.95 per month for at least fourteen (13) months now. This totals $168.55 for a service in which I was apparently unknowingly and involuntarily enrolled.
I recall visiting freecreditreport.com on or around the end of March. I was searching for an actual free credit report, which I am entitled to under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. After reviewing my records and discussing this with a friend who was accompanying me while I was going through this process, I have recalled exactly what happened. Before I ever committed to or accepted anything with freecreditreport.com which I absolutely never did but after I had gone through a part of the process, I received some kind of confirmation email telling me that I would be receiving a letter in the mail confirming my order and giving me an access code, which I would need to log into my account. I never committed to or accepted any kind of offer from freecreditreport.com because I was notified of the type of operation you ran. Of course, I never received another email from regarding this subject nor any kind of letter in the mail confirming any order so I assumed that I had successfully avoided your deceptive and fraudulent tactics. Crucially, I never accepted any of the so-called terms and conditions listed on your website.
Unfortunately, I have now learned that my credit card has been being charged $12.95 per month for a service I neither wanted nor received. As you may or may not know, no contract ever existed here for several reasons:
1. Procedural Unconscionability - The methods that you use to lure someone into ostensibly signing up for your service legally constitute procedural unconscionability. The notification of the terms and conditions, as well as the method of payment, is not conspicuous under any definition of the term and would be held to be procedurally unconscionable under most any court of law.
2. Lack of Acceptance - Despite providing freecreditreport.com with some information, and obviously enough for you to obtain my credit card number, I never accepted an offer from you.
3. Lack of Consideration - You never provided me with the service with which you were purportedly providing me. You said that you were sending me an access code to allow me to use your service. I received nothing of the kind.
At this time, I am demanding a full refund of $168.55 under alternative theories of restitution and multiple theories of contract and reserve the right to demand refund under any other theories of law at a future time. Please be advised that I will not hesitate to hail your company into a court of competent jurisdiction in the state of (your state) Further, I will not hesitate to notify the (your state) Attorney Generals office, the (your state) Better Business Bureau, local and national media sources, and any other necessary authorities.
If I do not here from you regarding this complaint within ten (10) business days from the date from the date of this letter, I will be forced to file suit in a court of competent jurisdiction in the (your state). Please contact me at (your phone #)
I look forward to a hearing from you.
Regards,
Wally
Grenada, Mississippi
U.S.A.
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