There are a number of Web sites that heavily advertise "free" credit reports and charge consumers for services they probably do not need, according to a Consumer Reports WebWatch study.
Consumer Reports
The Fair And Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 allows consumers to receive a free copy of their credit report once a year from the three credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The report points out that the growing number of Web sites offering "free" credit reports may confuse consumers. Some sites are even critical of the legitimate
Consumer Reports Webwatch recommends consumers not familiar with credit reports to consider each separately and incrementally. "Consumers are better off obtaining the three free reports per year they are entitled to by law from annualcreditreport.com, and purchasing credit scores from that site for as little as $8 each, than spending $160
per year on credit monitoring or $75 on scores," says Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Reports WebWatch.
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