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FTC touts its own free credit-report service

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BY LOUIS LLOVIO

MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Published: March 27, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission is trying to outwit the catchy FreeCreditReport.com commercials with its own ads touting a government-sponsored free service.

The FTC has even come up with its own band of 20-something musicians to tout the credit-report service. While the government ads are pithy and fun, there is a serious message behind them.

"Despite the musical claims of some TV commercials, the only authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law is" www.AnnualCreditReport.com>, the FTC said in a statement.

The government ads are a less-than-subtle response to the commercials created by The Martin Agency of Richmond, Va., which feature catchy tunes. Characters sing about their financial woes in a restaurant, a basement apartment, an old car and even a Renaissance festival.

In one FTC ad, a singer croons: "Their ads can be funny, so don't be deceived." A 20-something guitar player singing in a restaurant warns to "beware of the others, there's always a catch. They claim to be free, but strings are attached."

The FTC said it created the ads, which feature the Web site, to highlight the difference between the authorized site and others.

David Urban, a professor of marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the government could have a tough time getting its message out.

"The FTC is playing catch-up on this issue," Urban said. "Millions of Americans have already been exposed to the FreeCreditReport.com commercials, and the jingle is stuck in their heads."

A spokesman for the Martin agency referred all calls to FreeCreditReport.com.

Despite its name, FreeCreditReport.com charges a monthly fee for its services, which includes credit monitoring.

FreeCreditReport.com is part of a group of online credit-reporting Web sites that belongs to ConsumerInfo.com Inc., an Experian company, according to the Web site. Experian is one of the three credit-reporting agencies.

"FreeCreditReport.com values its members and takes their desire to reach their financial goals very seriously," a spokeswoman for the company said in an e-mailed statement. "We go to great lengths at multiple points during the sign-up process to disclose to new members that they will receive a free credit report and score with enrollment in the credit-monitoring membership."

On its Web site, FreeCreditReport.com says there is a seven-day free trial, but the service costs $14.95 per month after that.

But even during the free trial subscription, customers are not guaranteed to get credit results or the services offered.

A disclaimer on the Web site says monitoring of reports from the Experian credit-monitoring service begins within 48 hours of signing up for the trial. Monitoring on the two other reports, Equifax and TransUnion, can "take approximately four days to begin, though in some cases cannot be initiated during your trial period," the disclaimer reads.

A second disclaimer does point customers to the government-approved Web site.

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