Free Credit Report review: Unauthorized billing! 60

Very upset that people like me that struggle to live are getting rip off from fraud companies like CIC TRIPLE ADVANTAGE ALSO FREE CREDIT REPORT OT THE OTHER NAME CREDIT REPORT.COM. JUST LIKE OTHERS they have you sign up for a free report then charge your card from your bank account after the free trail. When you go to cancel they really don't and the following month they charge your account again... i have canceled 6 times and they yet to cancel my membership... is there any one out there that can stop these type of fraud companies... maybe dateline could do a story on these companies?

I was fortunate that I saw an unauthorized charge on my credit card credit card a couple weeks after I had logged onto this website for a "free" credit report. They had automatically enrolled me into their scam for $14.95 per month. They agreed to cancel the "membership" but would not refund the $14.95. A complaint to the credit card comapny said they would credit me and bill back to CIC Triple Advantage. Keep away fro their websie for a "free" report. Apparently, they have a "fine" print somewhere that enrolls you into their scam.

I was billed without my knowledge for monthly access to my credit report. When I called to cancel, the representative was extremely evasive and difficult. It took more than 7 attempts for me to communicate that I wanted to have my account canceled. I remained persistent and refused to give her my Social Security number. I have not yet received confirmation of my cancellation. Thanks to other comment suggestions on this site, I immediately called my credit card company and had them issue me a new account number and new cards.

Like most of you who have already posted, I was charged fees under the name Triple Advantage without any intention on my part to sign up for the service. This subscription and purported service resulted from my efforts to obtain a free credit report from freecreditreport.com. When I tried to cancel, the operator tried to cross-sell me on other products. I was informed that they could not refund me any of the fees because they were "valid."

Freecreditreport.com is owned by ConsumerInfo.com, which in turn is now owned by Experian. There are thousands of reports to the Better Business Bureau regarding this same problem. A class action lawsuit occurred in 2003 and resulted in a nearly 1 billion dollar judgment. This obviously did not encourage the company to refrain from this deceitful behavior. Perhaps a more direct appeal to the source of the problem is appropriate.

The founder of ConsumerInfo.com and CEO of the Experian Interactive Division of Experian is Ed Ojdana. I recommend that each and every one of you who reads this message, and is dissatisfied with the way they have been treated, email Mr. Ojdana at ed.ojdana@consumerinfo.com or ed.ojdana@experian.com. Let him know that consumers do not appreciate his condonation of such practices and demand a refund. Continue emailing him until you receive a satisfactory response. Do not let him hide behind the corporate structure that is designed to steal your money. If you find his phone number, I would love to know it. I have been unable to find it to this point.

There were 3 charges on my credit card of $12.00, $12.00, and $9.00 that I do not know what they are for and I did not charge anything from this company to this credit card.

I have a credit card that keeps getting billed by this company. I do not even know who they are. I have never used any service that they might provide. I do not appreciate charges on my account that I was not aware of. How can they get away with this? Can't something be done legally?

Plz advise smb!

Like the rest of you, I have been struggling to get my membership canceled (I didn't request one in the first place), and the charges refunded. Today, I finally found a phone number that was answered quickly. The person initially refused to refund the charges, and when I asked to speak with a supervisor, she put me on hold briefly. When she came back, she told me her supervisor had authorized the refund I was requesting, and gave me her name and a confirmation number. Lorey was her name.

I am being charged for months now. This fee of 12.95 and totally was unable to figure out when, where and how this fee comes from. This is absolutely crazy. I finally after months found this site. Thanks you guys for the phone number calling them today... Something has to be done... these son of bit**es can't keep doing this... not even my bank had information on them. I haven't even ever received any kind of notification from that at all. Not even a happy birthday greeting. So what the hell are they charging for...

They sold me a service and there is no service there unless I buy more and more services from them. This is scam and cheating! Beware!

VERY MAD MARK!

I never gave my credit card number or bank account number to this company, and yet for the last four months I have been charged 12.95. Not only that but I have been charged overdraft charges for these withdrawals. I have had enough and have contacted my bank to start an investigation on this matter. For anyone else that has been charged wrongfully, contact your bank and inform them of this problem, there are things they can do to help.

Have no idea what the $12 charge to my credit card is for. We have not authorized such and never heard of CIC Triple Advantage. Beware people!

Unauthorized to charge my PayPal account $14.95 on Dec. 30 & $14.95 on Dec. 31st. Never heard of this company. People beware of this scam!

I have been going back and forth since APRIL of 2007 to have these idiots remove charges and refund my CC for over 100.00 for charges I DID not authorize. They keep sending me emails telling me these charges were refunded at cancellation, these charges aren't ours, our records indicate your account has been refunded in full"... I can BULL****! I never authorized ANY money to be debited my CC and every month I get a new charge, and every month I send them a letter, and I get a different response.

From the looks of this complaint site... they seriously could care less and who ever owns this company is turning into another ENRON!

These people are ###!

I was able to revue my credit report on line. Now I am being charged a monthly fee for what? It was a one time credit report, I do not need the credit report or protection every month. Now I know I am being scammed but cannot get them top stop billing me.

Free Credit .Com is NOT Free... You realize that you're most likely going to have to pay something for the initial checking of your credit report, but at no time does this rip off company let you know that you will be charged for 12.95 each month. And not only did they charge me 12.95 a month, they also doubled the bill, so I've been getting the shaft for 25.90 each month since July of 2007... I've been charged 154.95 for a FREE credit report.

I received a 12.95 charge on my checking account from CIC Triple Advantage. I had never heard of the company and knew I had not made the charge. I went online and found out that this is a credit "protection" plan and it was automatically deducted from my account after visiting "freecreditreport.com" I called the company at [protected] and in four minutes had my account canceled. The representative tried to say it was in my wife's name but after I "insisted" he cancel he did.

I called the toll free number on that appeared on my credit card statement to find out what this charge was. I was told it was some type of insurance. I told them that i had insurance and requested cancellation immediately and to credit my account. 4 months later, i get my card statement and there are 2 charges from cic for 12.95! I called them again, was put on hold for what seemed like forever. Finally i talked to a jason who told me i had an "open" account with them. I explained that i had called 4 months ago to cancel and he told me he had no record of my call. Not surprising! I told him to cancel me pronto and that i was filing a complaint. How can a free credit report cost you 12.95 a month? I am verrry angry.

We not only had our credit card billed over $100 but our checking account was also billed $14.95 per month. I was told to file a police report and a subpoena to have our fees removed. They also gave their "Consumer Relations Group" fax no. [protected]. I have filed a complaint the with Better Business Bureau, WI Department of Finance, and about to file one with the FTC. If enough people are having issues with this company and their affiliates, it is preditory marketing. I am nearly certain that anyone who defends this service is vested in some form in the company. It is sick. I did research on CIC Triple Adv and the article stated over 1.25 million dollars in FTC fines, 10, 000 complaints and multiple class actions lawsuits. How can you defend a company that has obviously duped many consumers?

I have actually CALLED TO CANCEL my membership DURING THE 9 DAYS it's supposed to be free! I read between the lines! And I was told the membership was canceled. But I still got charged for it.

This is called deliberate lie, and this cannot be expkained by a paragraph I was supposed to read but didn't. This is not a scam anymore, it's a FRAUD.

CIC Triple Advantage
Vice President Customer Care
Robert Fosmire
robert.fosmire@consumerinfo.com

Address
18500 Von Karman Avenue Suite 400
Irvine, CA [protected]

Telephone Number
[protected]

I call bull**** on this. The advertisements clearly state "freecreditreport.com" and then they turn around and charge money. What I signed up for was a $1.00 fee (which makes sense) and nothing else. By the way, I did read the fine print. Not sure how small it was, but I will never do this again. I tried to call the number after hours so I will try again tomorrow. I will turn the channel the next time I hear this stupid commercial.

seach "free credit report" on google...they should come up as the first SPONSORED LINK company...they pay for every click...they ran up our costs, let's run up there's! (but make sure the link say freecreditreport.com because it's not cool if you click on another company's ads)...tell all your friends and family...let's really increase their marketing costs :)

let's not make it too obvious though cuz they can reverse those charges if they catch on...so search "free credit report" but also search "credit report" and "credit score" or "credit check" or just "credit"...switch up what you search, click on their ads from different computers, different locations, different days...and just get a bunch of people to do it

I only encourage this because the way they "earn" their money is unethical...they knowingly trick people

Unauthorized charge from CIC triple advantage. Being billed for this, which i never authorized. Have to pay my bank charges for overdraft for a payment i never authorized.

I think this is the company that comes from getting a "free" credit report at freecreditreport.com. Guess thats how they afford all those catchy commercials. Heh. You have to call the phone # listed on your bank invoice to get them to stop charging you.

Yes, I'm another person who had no idea as to why my credit card is being charged automatically. I'm willing to agree that I may have inadvertently signed up to something that I was clueless about, but luckily, the credit card that they're charging is one that I've been planning on closing. I was only waiting to make sure the I didn't have any "valid" automatic billings that I needed to change to a different card before I closed it. I'd seen the charge is the past, but as I used my card for lots of purchases, I disregarded it as being something that I'd purchased and didn't remember. Luckily, the only charge I now see is CIC Triple Advantage (had to run a search to see what it was) and now thanks to all you fine folks, I'll be closing my account tomorrow. I'll let them contact my "customer service" department next month when their charge is rejected due to my closed account. They can contact the FTC is they have a problem.
On another note, I don't know who the infamous Adam is, but is it really necessary to be vulgar on this website? Also, please check your grammar and typing before insulting someone!
Have a great day!

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Adam,
You a [censored].. Please do me (and every other sucker on this site) a favor and kill yourself, you ###.
thx

This must STOP! How can you charge my card without my permission?
I will be reporting this to the BBB. And my account at the bank will be notified.
I NEVER signed up for monthly reports!
I would greatly appricate it if you would remove me at this time! Deb Gregoire

I to have attempted to cancle this account for several months now. I finally got someone to admit that I had a account with these people. I have now been on hold for 10 minutes waiting for cancle information. The clerk kept trying to say I hadn't accessed my information, but was very eager to cancle the account when I mentioned the FTC. I tried to explain that I was never given a user name or pass word so this account was useless for me. I am also contacting my bank to put a red flag on this company. I do plan on reporting them also.

unauthorized billing as well...how do I get this to stop?

Adam,

If its such a cut and dry, 'okie dokie' business practice...then why are they in trouble with the FTC? See below:

Agency: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Los Angele
Description: On August 15, 2005, the FTC filed suit against the company alleging that the company deceptively marketed "free credit reports" by not adequately disclosing that consumers automatically would be signed up for a credit monitoring service and charged $79.95 if they didn't cancel within 30 days, in violation of federal law. The suit also alleges that the Defendant's practice of causing the annual $79.95 charges to be assessed for payment without the consumers' express, informed consent causes, is likely to cause, or has caused, substantial injury to consumers that is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or competition. In addition, the suit claims that from December 1, 2004 to at least March of 2005, Defendant failed to disclose or to disclose adequately in their advertisements or on their websites that the "free" credit reports they were offering were not associated with the annual free credit report program pursuant to the FACT Act, but rather a commercial promotion, and that consumers cannot obtain their statutorily-mandated free report through the company's websites.

To settle the suit, the Defendants, without admission as to the allegations in the complaint, agreed in part, to be permanetly enjoined from: misrepresenting expressly or by implication that consumers can obtain a free product, program, or service at no cost or obligation, or misrepresenting the amount of any charge or fee. The Defandants must also disclose in their advertising the fees associated with the service, its terms, and that under federal law you have the right to receive a free credit report available at www.annualcreditreport.com and that they are not affilliated with the annual free credit program. The Defendants were also ordered to provide refunds to any consumers who qualify and enrolled between November 1, 2000 and September 15, 2003. In addition, the Defendants are to pay $950, 000 as disgorgement of profits and any refund checks that are not cashed as to the consumers who qualify are also to be remitted to the US Treasury.
Date of Action: 8/15/2005

Agency: Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Washington
Description: On January 8, 2007 Consumerinfo.com entered into a Stipulated Judgment and agreed to an Order for Permanent Injunction to settle charges that the company's "free credit report" offer failed to explicitly disclose that subscribers would be automatically signed up into a paid credit-monitoring program.

The FTC charged that ConsumerInfo.com had engaged in deceptive marketing practices through requiring credit card information for consumers to purchase their "free credit report, " then billing them $79.95 annually unless they opted out within 30 days. ConsumerInfo.com was also charged with violating the terms of a previous settlement with the FTC over similar practices in August 2005. The previous settlement required the company to pay $950, 000 in penalties, as well as requirements for prohibiting the company from engaging in deceptive business practices.

The 2007 Order requires that the company more clearly disclose the terms and conditions of their services. The company agreed to pay $300, 000 in Civil penalties, and is prohibited from advertising any of its services as related to the free annual credit reports consumers can receive each year from the major credit bureaus, under the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Order was entered without admission of guilt or wrongdoing by the company and was for settlement purposes only. Upon entry the Order was finalized.

* * * * *

For those that say NO credit report is free:

All Americans are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The free credit reporting service recently marked its first anniversary of availability across the 50 states. To get a copy of your free annual credit report, you can; call [protected]; visit their website at www.annualcreditreport.com; or file a written request for your report to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA [protected]. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site for free credit reports.

It is deceptive marketing or else thousands wouldn't be making the same mistakes. I guess Adam is a paid shill for the company. No one but an employee would spout the drivel that he is.

I checked my FREE credit report and have now been charged $14.95. I want this money put back and I want my name taken off this company!

I was also duped, so I called the number I found on this website (after googling it), and told them to cancel my membership and refund my money. They said I had agreed to signing up for the service while checking my credit report. I told them I did it all via BlackBerry so the fine print never showed up. They said they will refund my money and send e-mail confirmation.

Adam,
I find your remarks quite condescending. I like others signed up for the service about 6 months ago, and was charged. I called them and successfully canceled it, only to find that this month I've been charged again! Not only do they make it difficult to unsubscribe, it appears they take the liberty to re-subscribe you. I'm back on the phone trying to cancel. Watch your account closely. Even if you did cancel, another charge may pop up.

Hi,

I visited the website FREECREDITREPORT.COM for a look at my credit report. However I signed up using my Bank check card and agreed to the terms for the 7 days trial membership. after reading the terms and conditions which I have a copy of from that same day 4/ 19/2008 (just so that it does not change from then to now. I viewed my experian report, but then on the top of that report there wwas abox with an option that saids view all three report so i clicked on it and the three reports came up on the screen. Two days after I saw a charge for $39.95 from my bank account from CIC*Creditreport. the website saids 7 DAYS TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WITH TRIPLE ADVANTAGE (MONITOR ALL 3 REPORTS- KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON TRANSUNION, EQUIFAX AND EXPERIAN. This was one of the triple advatage that they spopke.
when I called, I got a runaround and was told they wont refund my money.

I was told that to view the other two reports it is a seperate charge which is contrary to what is advertised on the website. I am also aware that comsumerinfo/CRG is part of experian and free creditreport.com so if nothing is done I have recordings of conversations with freecreditreport.com's customer reps and supervisors. Some of these recordings contain acknowledgement that a triple advantage benifit of the the trial period membership includes viewing all three bureaus. I am going to expose freecreditreport.com and make sure they are shut down for this and that they dont do it to anyone else. My Number is [protected]. If this matter is not resolved immediatley I have already began to speak to my advisors. This is not because of $39.95, this is because $500, 000.00 and more you people are ripping of the public.

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGRY!

I was just scammed too. Unfortunately, my credit card company has not been much help. I had hoped they would remove the fraudulent charges and contact the thieves, but they just told me to call the company that scammed me in the first place (CIC - SUPPOSEDLY FREE credit report) to cancel something I never ordered. Why don’t they prosecute these companies who routinely scam people?
I found the website when I searched for "Experian free yearly credit report". It appeared to be Experian's website and stated "your credit card WILL NOT be charged. The information is only for verification purposes only."
They did send me a cancellation notice, but refused to refund my money and when I asked for a supervisor, I was hung up on. I will be filing a complaint with the credit card company, as well as the Attorney General's Office.
Like it or not Adam, this company's practices are OUTRIGHT DECEPTIVE, and there will be hell to pay if they charge me again after I received the email message from them stating they did cancel the account I never ordered in the first place. From what I've read in these posts, I will be cancelling that particular credit card just in case they decided to try and rip me off again.

Has anyone else noticed that there is an AD with GOOGLE for these idiots ON THIS PAGE?

Some things never cease to amaze me!

I have been dealing with this idiots since April 2007. I NEVER agreed to having my credit monitored and each month there is a NEW charge..sometimes its 12.00, sometimes its 24.95, sometimes its 20.00. They have told me:

"Your account was refunded in full at cancellation"
WTF? I NEVER agreed to a service!

"your account has been refunded in full and you should see a reflection of such on your next statement"
Uhm...no, I havent

"these charges are not ours"
BULLS**t!

Why is it I get a different freakin answer with EACH email I send?

I am no up to over $100 in fradulant charges and I want MY money back!

I have not received information from this (whatever you call them) company. I get charged $12.95 on my debit card and im wondering if i just close my account if then they can no longer charge me for something?

My account was being charged $14.95 ...i did not even check my free credit report for the first time hen i registered as i did not have an access code after i registered as i did change my address...but i went to my old address and found the mail with the access code...but by the time i came back to register with the code my free credit report time was already over so i could not even view my free credit report...and now another crap saying my account has been charged $14.95 towards CIC triple advantage...wht the hell! i was not even given a notice...

this is the worst website i have seen !