Many free credit reports still aren't free

Don Girard, a spokesman for Experian, said his company had given away millions of free credit reports as part of free trials of its services, and generally, consumers are happy with the firm's products. He also said disclosures on the company's Web sites were clear.

"Consumers who have come to Experian sites don't seem to have too much trouble figuring out how to get a free credit report," he said.  "Can we improve the site? Of course.  Do we strive to make it clearer to consumers every day? Yes. "  

He acknowledged the company has received some complaints, but said Experian has a "liberal refund policy."

FTC watches the mimickers
Joel Winston, assistant director of financial practices at the Federal Trade Commission, says the agency is monitoring sites that are mimicking the AnnualCreditReport site, "and if we determine that consumers are being deceived into paying for something they should be getting for free, we are prepared to act against it."

One reason for the low ranking of AnnualCreditReport.com in the Google search was that, until recently, the site was built to prevent links from outside Web sites.  The credit bureaus said the decision was made for security reasons. But that policy changed Feb. 28, according to Dixon. AnnualCreditReport has since climbed to No. 20 on the Google list. 

Google's Eileen Rodriguez said the site results were based on "relevance and importance."

"If you search for [annual credit report], AnnualCreditReport.com is one of the leading results.  A search for [free credit report] returns FreeCreditReport.com as one of the leading results.  Google's results are based on a number of technological factors, including relevance and importance," she said.

Many complaints in the past
This is not the first time someone has complained about credit monitoring sales tactics. Last February, Dixon's report suggested consumers shouldn't use the Internet to get their free credit reports because of all the confusion created by free credit report sites. She suggested consumers call toll-free phone numbers provided by the bureaus instead.

At the time, Dixon's report said about 50 sites were offering free credit reports that ultimately required subscriptions.

"The credit bureaus are blurring the lines between what is free for consumers and what is available for a cost,"  Dixon said. "This is really a mess...It's a ridiculous thing for consumers to have to go through to simply get their free credit report."

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