FreeScore.com: Not Exactly Free
Freescore.com has just begun advertising (with Ben Stein as its spokesman) that you can get credit scores from all three credit bureaus free:
You will note that nowhere in this main panel above on their website is there ANY disclosure about cost and obligation. “When you try FreeScore” does not communicate anything. And there is not even an asterisk.
*MOUSE PRINT:
*A refundable $1.00 processing fee applies.
And only when you decide to sign up for the “free” scores, do you learn the rest of the details:
*MOUSE PRINT:
Simply click “View Scores” on the next page to activate your trial membership in FreeScore and claim your Free 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Credit Score! To activate your trial membership in FreeScore, you will be charged/debited a $1.00 refundable processing fee and then you can immediately take advantage of the exciting savings FreeScore has to offer! After your 7-day FREE trial period it’s just $29.95 per month for FreeScore. Remember, you can call FreeScore toll-free at 1-800-316-8824 within the first 7 days to cancel, and you will not be charged/debited. Also, remember to ask for a refund of your $1 processing fee.
As with similar offers for credit monitoring services, you only get your “free” scores by signing up for a trial membership in a credit report access program for nearly $30 a month — a new high. (These things used to cost $79 a year, but without any credit scores.)
Their TV commercial is no better, and arguably worse:
*MOUSE PRINT: For only about one and half seconds is a disclaimer on the screen in the tiniest of fonts that says “scores and reports free with trial membership in FreeScore.” There is no disclosure at all about a refundable $1 processing charge.
Trans Union is the provider of this service, and one would have thought the lessons that Experian learned (after the FTC went after them) would be apparent: you should be upfront on the website and say to get your “free” scores you must join a trial program for $1 and that it will cost you money if you fail to cancel within X period of time.
Another piece of information missing anywhere on the web site… what type of credit score is provided. Lenders use the FICO scoring method. Mostly likely, the score sold is an Advantage score that lenders typically do not use. For all we know, it could be a completely different type of score that does not compare to anything or is used by anyone making a loan decision.
Comment by Marc — July 27, 2009 @ 7:08 pmWell, they offer a 7 day trial so we’ll get ALL that was advertised free. Who doensn’t read fine prints when singning up for ANYTHING online… They better unplug the net cable..
and how hard is to give them a call or email them to cancel ?
instead of bitching.. let’s just be thankful that they give us, cheap people, that info for free and let us cancel right after we printed off all reports.
(Now.. if you’re gonna argue that that info should be FREE-for-all by law… I agree, but that’s another discussion..)
Comment by Alisha — July 28, 2009 @ 9:20 amI thought it _was_ free by law.
Edgar replies: Credit reports are free at http://www.annualcreditreport.com ; but scores are NOT free (and not required to be).
Comment by Boris — July 28, 2009 @ 12:08 pmThey charge/refund the $1 so that they can verify the bank account you provide is real.
Comment by Bernanke — July 28, 2009 @ 12:34 pmEdgar replies: They charge your CREDIT CARD $1 so they know your number and have a way to charge you $29.95 a month after the trial ends (if you don’t cancel).
After Ben’s movie it is a wonder that anyone is willing to accept him as a spokesperson for anything. That film was fraught with so much misinformation you could drive a battleship through it.
Comment by Mac — July 28, 2009 @ 8:48 pmAlisha, you miss the point.
It is not about out scamming the scammers. It is about deception.
Comment by Richard B. — July 29, 2009 @ 1:25 amIf you pay off all your debts, cancel all your credit accounts and never buy anything on credit again you will end up with a FICO score of zero in about a years time, then you won’t have to worry about checking your credit score.
Comment by Shawn — July 29, 2009 @ 9:24 amthere you go Shawn…!
if life would be that easy…
Comment by Alisha — July 29, 2009 @ 10:43 pmRichard, I understand that Signing up for a trial KNOWING 100% beforehand that you’ll be cancelling that same week could be called ’scamming the scammers’
Now, I take ‘deception’ as if I didn’t know what I was getting into when I signed up, and that’s not true when you can read the fine print (which it isn’t really ‘fine’. it’s preety big on a side of the signup page..)
the only ‘free’ part of their service is the trial AND the word ‘free’ in the URL / link.
we should know already that there is no free stuff without strings attached, and by taking 1 minute reading fine prints.. we can take advantage of sooo many services for free (with their trials..)
We should wish there were more companies like this one… so every month we can signup for their trials and get our free scores and reports ;o)
Comment by Alisha — July 29, 2009 @ 10:58 pmBen Stein just got fired by the NYT over this commercial.
Comment by Jasper — August 7, 2009 @ 2:30 pmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/07/ben-stein-loses-new-york_n_253855.html
Too bad he probably made more money with the commercial than with his columns…
And I thought Ben Stein was honest?! He used to give financial advice. Now I see his commercials with Shaq must be lies also. Can’t trust anybody unless they do these commercials for free.
Comment by Elizabeth — August 9, 2009 @ 6:42 pmI had signed up for a free credit report with a membership a while back…. It took about 7 minutes to sign up and about 1-2 hours between being on hold and talking to people who “barely” speak English to cancel. They had an incredibly long phone script they had to drag you through first.
These companies know people forget to cancel… forget they “have” the service… or otherwise find being on hold for an hour not worth the struggle… now if they could only say that somewhere on the site, that would be nice:
Dear Customer,
When you sign up with us today, we know you will forget to unsubscribe from our membership. We know you will wind up paying the unlimited easy payments of 29.99 plus tax, and we value your money. That is why we are able to provide you with your credit report and score for FREE! Please click the next button to continue.
Sincerely,
Report Company Ink.
– Ages
Comment by Peter — August 13, 2009 @ 4:11 pmThere is a site that actually gives you a free credit score: http://www.creditkarma.com. I’ve been using it for almost a year and I haven’t found a catch to it. They do advertise “offers” (mainly ads for loans and credit cards), but they don’t require your credit card number.
Comment by Sara — August 20, 2009 @ 6:29 pmAnother site that offers a totally free credit score, no strings, no trials, no credit card required, is http://www.Quizzle.com. Quizzle’s the only site that gives you BOTH a free credit score and a free credit report without requiring that you sign up for a subscription.
Comment by Ann-Marie — August 28, 2009 @ 3:48 pmBoo to Ben Stein!!!! My son tried to find out his triple score for FREE but before they knew it they were getting charged for 2 months @ $150 for nothing… they were told they couldn’t run their credit rating & couldn’t check back for 6 months!!!! Therefore they didn’t achieve anything but debt!!!! What kind of a DEAL is that!!!! I told him to take it the Better Business Bureau & complain!!!! Bait & Switch!!!! So wrong!!!! My Kids didn’t deserve that because they are trying with a new baby to do all they right things!!!! This is wrong!
Comment by Bonnie — September 24, 2009 @ 11:17 pmI am so sorry I did not find this web site before I got took for $59.00. What a way to make a fast buck.
Comment by Jackie McBride — October 19, 2009 @ 9:51 am