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Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

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Barry
Administrator Emeritus

Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

A Wisconsin woman is suing the credit-reporting agency Experian because its ubiquitous advertisements for FreeCreditReport.com made her think she could go to that site to get a free credit report.

Erica Possin, a college student in Wisconsin, wanted to check her credit before buying a new car. She'd seen the ads for FreeCreditReport.com, so she went there. Of course, she got her "free" credit report only after inadvertently signing up for a $14.95 monthly credit monitoring service.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/experian-sued-for-its-dec_n_449098.html#comments
Message 1 of 30
29 REPLIES 29
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

What, she can't read or something?

I * puffy heart * the FCR-dot-com commercials, especially the lead, even though he's French Canadian and they have to dub him, but geez louise, honey, read the fine print. "A college student in Wisconsin"; give me strength. This is why you go to college. It's called "learning critical thinking."

OK, OK. There should probably be something done about deceptive commercials. But who on earth believes anything at all that they see on a commercial??

And I really wish that they'd up the quality of their newer commercials. I had great hopes for the Renaissance Faire players in tights, but it was so lame. Smiley Sad
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 2 of 30
MarineVietVet
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads


@haulingthescoreup wrote:
What, she can't read or something?

I * puffy heart * the FCR-dot-com commercials, especially the lead, even though he's French Canadian and they have to dub him, but geez louise, honey, read the fine print. "A college student in Wisconsin"; give me strength. This is why you go to college. It's called "learning critical thinking."

OK, OK. There should probably be something done about deceptive commercials. But who on earth believes anything at all that they see on a commercial??

And I really wish that they'd up the quality of their newer commercials.
I had great hopes for the Renaissance Faire players in tights, but it was so lame. Smiley Sad

I agree but everyone knows those commercials. They are very effective in that sense.

 

I catch myself singing those dumb lyrics. (A symptom of a simple mind I suppose).

Message 3 of 30
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

My favorite is still I Married My Dream Girl. I especially love her slamming the bathroom door on the drummer. Smiley Very Happy

And I do hope that he enjoys his bachelor life with his dog.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 4 of 30
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads


@haulingthescoreup wrote:
What, she can't read or something?

I * puffy heart * the FCR-dot-com commercials, especially the lead, even though he's French Canadian and they have to dub him, but geez louise, honey, read the fine print. "A college student in Wisconsin"; give me strength. This is why you go to college. It's called "learning critical thinking."

OK, OK. There should probably be something done about deceptive commercials. But who on earth believes anything at all that they see on a commercial??

And I really wish that they'd up the quality of their newer commercials. I had great hopes for the Renaissance Faire players in tights, but it was so lame. Smiley Sad

I forget who said it, but the quote is, "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

 

 

 

 

Message 5 of 30
newstart2010
Blogger

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

i LOVE those ads, and i sing them a lot.  makes the family batty.  but oh well.

 

i, too, am surprised by the number of educated intelligent people fall for the fact that its not really free.  and then they want someone else to fix it or pay in some way.  again....what ever happened to responsibilty??  When I do something stupid i slap my forehead and cry out "Doh!"  I don't walk around pointing fingers.

I live my life like I type, fast and with a lot of mistakes.
Spacebar broken. Watch for finger.

02/04/2015 || TU 08: 728 EX 08: 709 EQ 08: 748

Message 6 of 30
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

I personally think the ads are deceptive. Why not have more clarity on what that "free" report is costing? It wouldn't hurt anything...except their bottom line.

 

I'm not advocating lack of taking responsibility, but this is deceptive.

Message 7 of 30
Watchmann
Valued Contributor

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

To those that are surprised people think they will actually get something for free, get real.  People think they are getting something free all the time.... buy a house with zero down, zero interest, zero job..... what else could be simpler?  If people fall for the big stuff, they are like putty for smart marketeers on the small stuff.  I've said it before ..... Americans are financial dunderheads.

Message Edited by Watchmann on 02-07-2010 03:56 PM
Message 8 of 30
MattH
Senior Contributor

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads


@Watchmann wrote:

To those that are surprised people think they will actually get something for free, get real.  People think they are getting something free all the time.... buy a house with zero down, zero interest, zero job..... what else could be simpler?  If people fall for the big stuff, they are like putty for smart marketeers on the small stuff.  I've said it before ..... Americans are financial dunderheads.

Message Edited by Watchmann on 02-07-2010 03:56 PM

TANSTAAFL

 

TU 791 02/11/2013, EQ 800 1/29/2011 , EX Plus FAKO 812, EX Vantage Score 955 3/19/2010 wife's EQ 9/23/2009 803
EX always was my highest when we could pull all three
Always remember: big print giveth, small print taketh away
If you dunno what tanstaafl means you must Google it
Message 9 of 30
laz98
Senior Contributor

Re: Experian Sued For Its Deceptive FreeCreditReport.com Ads

people seriously need to up their reading skills.  what the heck!  must not be a very good college Smiley Very Happy
Message 10 of 30
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