Keep Your Free Credit Report Free
By: Jake | November 30, 2009 | Category: Money
I'm sure after your Black Friday shopping some of you are wondering if you hurt your credit. By law you are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the major credit bureaus---Experian, Equifax and TransUnion---and you can find out how to get it at annualcreditreport.com.
It's important to go to that website in particular because as Colleen showed us back in March some websites lure you in and charge you monthly fees. You may have seen TV advertisements from other companies which show people singing about their misfortune due to not checking their credit. When I wanted to check my credit, I signed up for a credit report from one of these websites. Suddenly, I found myself paying $15 a month to find out that nothing on my credit report had changed.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gets complaints about situations like mine and has aired advertisements like the one above to get people to the right website. In October, the FTC proposed new rules to curb consumer confusion and stop deceptive marketing regarding free credit report advertisements. The proposed rules include requirements for these companies to put disclaimers on their advertisements and websites so consumers are less confused. FTC's deadline to implement the new rules is February 22, 2010.
How often do you check your credit report?
Permalink
| View Comments [8]
| 
E-mail This Entry
| Tags:
annualcreditreport.gov
freecreditreport.gov
ftc
jake
money
Bookmark and share: 
About social bookmarking
RSS Feeds
E-mail Updates
Comment Permalink
I work in Internet Marketing & found this post while I was looking for some credit rating info.
The FTC has actually altered laws in relation to affiliate marketing practices as of December 1, 2009.
So as of very recently people advertising on the internet & pretending to be reviewing products or offering "free" trials etc must disclose that they are being renumerated for referrals.
This came about because of precisely the type of scamming you mention here. Often once they have your CC number & start to auto debit it's the devil's own job to track them down & stop it.
I've been bitten myself in the past so I'm glad they're stepping in to regulate it.
If you find any sites you think are suspicious or not complying please report them to the FTC so they can investigate with a view to fining the site owner.
href="http://www.chrhistmasgiftspresents.com">Linda Mac</a>
Comment Permalink
I have had it with you and your administration, sir. Your conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the United States of America collectively or of me personally.
You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans and the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of the President of the United States of America . You are responsible to the citizens of the United States ... You are not responsible to the peoples of any other country on earth.
I personally resent that you go around the world apologizing for the United States telling Europeans that we are arrogant and do not care about their status in the world. Sir, what do you think the First World War and the Second World War were all about if not the consideration of the peoples of Europe ? Are you brain dead? What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about? Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?
Where do you get off telling a Muslim country that the United States does not consider itself a Christian country? Have you not read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States ? This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and the principles governing this country, at least until you came along, come directly from this heritage. Do you not understand this?
Comment Permalink
How is a responsible person supposed to go about reducing expenses to maintain good credit when the act of doing so damages your credit? It's a catch 22. perhaps everyone else already knew about this but it came as a real shock to me.
www.irazorstrategies.com/wisconsin-search-engine-optimization.aspx
Comment Permalink
Every people should look for their credit report.
There may be a problem with your credit history. Wrong, missing, or incomplete information on your credit report may lead to your being denied credit when you want to take out a loan to buy a car or a home. At that point there won't be much time to start figuring out potential problems with your credit history. It's better to make an annual check and head off potential problems sooner rather than later.
Jack
http://viedigital.com
Comment Permalink
Comment Permalink
Each credit check 'damages' the property investor's credit profile as it looks like that person is constantly looking for new ways to acquire credit. Therefore, if a property investor is looking at buying 3-4 properties in a matter of 3 months, his/her credit points would be quite a bit lower by the 4th property than it was on the first property.
http://investmentpropertyoffers.co.uk
Comment Permalink
Comment Permalink