FTC settles with Web-based 'free' credit report vendor

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Consumerinfo.com $950,000 and ordered it to repay potentially millions of customers because of what the FTC called a deceptive marketing campaign promising free credit reports, the agency announced Tuesday.

The FTC accused Consumerinfo.com, which also operates the Freecreditreport.com Web site, of promising a free credit report but automatically signing up customers for a credit monitoring service costing $79.95 a year if they didn't cancel within 30 days. For about three years, the notice of the yearly fee was in small print buried in the privacy policy notice on the second page of the order form, according to the FTC's court complaint.

Consumerinfo.com charged consumers "for services they may not have wanted, or even intended to buy," said Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. "There was absolutely no adequate disclosure."

The company's failure to adequately disclose the automatic billing and to get consumers’ consent to bill their accounts violated federal law, the FTC charged. Consumerinfo.com is a subsidiary of Experian North America, the parent company of Experian Information Services, one of the three national credit reporting companies.

A representative of Consumerinfo.com did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.

The FTC settled its complaint with Consumerinfo.com on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Santa Ana. The settlement requires the company to refund money to consumers who were charged for the credit monitoring service between November 2000 and September 2003 and complained about the charges. Customers who qualify for the refund should receive notice by mail or e-mail in the coming months, the FTC said.

Consumerinfo.com has provided about 9 million credit reports to customers, according to information from the company.

The settlement requires Consumerinfo.com to prominently detail charges associated with its credit report offers and to notify customers it is not affiliated with a free credit report program authorized by the U.S. Congress in 2003. This is the first action the FTC has taken against companies offering free credit reports, Parnes said.

Consumerinfo.com drove customers to its Web sites with radio, television, Web-based ads that promised free credit reports and a bonus free trial of a credit-monitoring service, the FTC said. Among the claims in its ads:

"FREE! FREE! FREE! Get Your FREE Credit Report Online in Seconds!!!! Click here to get a FREE copy of your online Credit Report Instantly! And that’s not all ... along with your INSTANT credit report, we’ll give you 30 FREE days of the Credit Check Monitoring Service at no obligation."

Customers were required to provide detailed personal information and a valid credit card number to get their credit report. “Your card will not be charged during the free trial period," Consumerinfo.com said. "However, valid credit card information is required to establish your account.”