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Govt. Free Credit Reports Hit YouTube
March 10, 2009 1:44 PM
ABC News’ Andrew Springer reports: How much did you pay for your last “free” credit report?
Guitar in hand, surrounded by friends, one young man in a new video isn't lamenting his poor credit history but how much he had to pay to see it. But this isn't from the average YouTube user. It's from the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC released two "spoof" videos today to let consumers know the only place to get a free credit report is from its site: AnnualCreditReport.com. The two videos parody the popular ads from FreeCreditReport.com -- a site that allows users to view a copy of their credit report only if they sign up for a trial of a paid credit monitoring service.
"More than ever, consumers need to know there's a place they can go to get a free credit report," said Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. She said that's because as the economy gets worse, it's getting harder and harder for consumers to get credit. The FTC says that checking your credit is an effective way to deter and detect identity theft.
Consumers under a 2003 federal law have the right to get a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months. The commission set up AnnualCreditReport.com in response, but this is the first time since it went online nationwide in 2005 that the commission has made videos to promote it.
The site the videos parody, FreeCreditReport.com, provides access to a free credit report only with a trial membership in one of its credit monitoring services. Users have seven days to cancel their membership, or start paying $14.95 a month, according to the company's Web site.
Harrington said the FTC has received complaints about FreeCreditReport.com. "Consumers are confused," she said.
In 2005, the FTC settled charges against the site's parent company, Experian, alleging its ads for free credit reports were deceptive. Alhough she said the FTC has criticized the company's ads for deceptiveness in the past, Harrington won't comment now.
After posting its own PSAs on its Web site, YouTube and MySpace, the FTC hopes the videos will go viral, so it can get the word out to as many people as possible.
March 10, 2009 | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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hey your blog is boring bring some spices in it
Posted by: GrantS | Mar 11, 2009 8:46:42 AM
A credit report is the single most important piece of information in a young adults life. It will either make or break your financial health.
Posted by: David@card no transfer balance | May 16, 2009 2:41:18 PM
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