More “Gotcha Capitalism” – Mr. Freeze, the Financial Curmudgeon Speaks Out!
freecreditreport.com IS NOT FREE
Mr. Freeze, the Finanical Curmudgeon is "po'd"
I, Mr. Freeze the Financial Curmudgeon am convinced that when it comes to the “consumer credit industry,” Americans (the most informed and least intelligent people on earth) suffer from a chronic, congenital disease that I, Mr. Freeze have identified (and patented): “I-am-utterly-stupid-about-money-and-I’ll-pay-good-money-for-something-that-is-advertised-as-FREE-syndrome©.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in the existence of the website www.freecreditreport.com which, as the name clearly implies, is a place where you and I, Mr. Freeze, can go to receive a FREE credit report. Oh, but not so fast my dear friends. As it turns out Experian, one of the 3 major Credit Bureaus in the U.S. owns freecreditreport.com and is currently making $700 million annually selling monthly credit report monitoring to consumers. In order to do this Experian has been aggressively marketing freecreditreport.com by playing to the anxiety of the public regarding their credit scores during these tough economic times. If you click on the Experian link above, you’ll see just how aggressively the company is pushing the notion of “free” credit scores and the idea of having your credit report monitored.
The Truth About “Free Credit Reports”
Mr. Freeze was mightily impressed with yesterday’s article in the NY Times by Ron Lieber entitled “A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill.” In fact, in Mr. Freeze’s never-humble opinion, it is one of the best, most comprehensive pieces regarding this subject that Mr. Freeze has read in a long time. It should be required reading for anyone who deals with consumer credit issues: THAT WOULD BE ALL OF YOU! And for those of you who are allergic to reading, here is an excellent video produced by the Federal Trade Commission as a counter-attack against the slick credit industry advertising:
Click on this picture to view the video!
In essence, many consumers are convinced by slick advertising and the “mild paranoia” that afflicts Americans that they need to monitor their credit reports constantly. In fact, as pointed out in the NY Times article and the video, this isn’t really necessary. To quote one expert from the article:
“Does the average person really need to see their credit reports more than once every four months? Do you need to look at it daily?” asked Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org and a former member of Experian’s consumer advisory panel, referring to credit monitoring services. “That’s paranoia.”
So, What Should You Do
According to most experts in the consumer credit industry, unless you’re going through some huge life changes (e.g. buying a house, taking out a loan, divorce, marriage, etc.) you don’t need to look at your credit report more than a couple of times a year. THE PLACE TO GO FOR A FREE CREDIT REPORT ONCE A YEAR IS:
www.annualcreditreport.com
Mr. Freeze gets asked this question all the time: “Can I get my credit SCORE for free at this site?” The answer is no. Credit Scores are a product one much purchase from the credit bureaus. It’s important to keep in mind that credit scores are important when you’re trying to get a loan or buy a house; however, for the purposes of checking on your general credit report, you’ll find most everything you need at www.annualcreditreport.com.
Mr. Freeze courtesy of ElDave on flicker.com
