Did You Use FreeCreditReport.com? There’s a Class Action…

April 19th, 2011. By AbiK

So a couple years ago you were kicking back listening to the “F to the R to the E to the E…” Free Credit Report dot com commercial and thinking these guys were pretty funny acting out every wannabe’s worst nightmare: being relegated to the ranks of the uncool for being duped by a lousy credit score.

I’m sure a few—hell, quite a few—folks made a mental note of that web address (freecreditreport.com) and checked it out. Who wouldn’t want to know their credit score? Especially when it’s “free” and it could keep you out of a sub-compact car, your inlaws’ basement digs, or a Renaissance Faire. So you were game. And you headed over to freecreditreport.com with visions of a tricked out Ferrari in your head.

Ahh…but you didn’t quite notice a few things—red flags—that the savvier credit score hound might’ve. Like, the score you get is not the one lenders use to determine whether they’ll cough up a loan or let you drive that sleek cherry tomato red Porsche off the lot. No, the score you’ll get at freecreditscore.com is called the PLUS score, and according to Experian—one of the big 3 credit score companies along with Equifax and TransUnion—the PLUS score is not the one that is sold to lenders. (Your FICO score is the one lenders use.)

Translation: while your PLUS score may be a barometer of your creditworthiness, it’s basically worth squat when you’re sitting at the dealership desk waiting for Mr. Carsalesman to ‘talk to his manager’. I should mention here that it’s Experian who owns ConsumerInfo.com…which owns…freecreditreport.com and freecreditscore.com.

Say what? Yes, the folks you rely on to provide lenders with your credit score have been advertising a service—that’s “free” but not really free—for you to get your credit score—but not THAT credit score; not the one you really need to know. The service isn’t free as it’s really a come on for a credit monitoring service that you pay for after an initial trial period of 7 days. If you cancel before then, there’s no charge; if not, you get charged.

Thankfully there are some savvy consumers out there and as LawyersandSettlements.com recently reported, a class action has been filed against ConsumerInfo.com. No one knows ConsumerInfo really, so I’m sure this one will be known as the freecreditreport.com class action or the class action about that credit score site with the cool commercials. Regardless, if you got your credit score from freecreditreport.com or freecreditscore.com, then you may be part of the class. Here’s what you need to know…

FreeCreditReport.com Class Action or FreeCreditScore.com Class Action Details

Class Members: Any one who purchased services from ConsumerInfo.com, FreeCreditReport.com or FreeCreditScore.com during the class period

Class Period: March 22, 2007 to present

For More Info: Read more about the FreeCreditReport.com class action and/or submit your ConsumerInfo.com – FreeCreditReport.com complaint.

Closing tidbit—the front man of the band on those commercials was musician and actor Eric Violette from Canada. ConsumerInfo.com has since not only shifted their focus from credit “reports” to credit “scores“, they’ve also brought in a new band, which from comments I’ve seen, has upheld the maxim that sequels are typically never as good as the original.

Tags: ConsumerInfo.com, FreeCreditReport.com, FreeCreditScore.com

This was posted on Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 10:11 am and is filed under Class Action, Complaints/Comments, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.