Experian sued over ********************************.com ads

Now it starts:

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A class-action suit is filed against the company for deceptive advertising.


You may not know Experian for its company name, but most likely you've heard or seen one of its advertisements for free credit reports dot com. They have those catchy jingles -- some may call them annoying -- and tell stories about how people end up out of luck because they hadn't checked their credit.


College student Erica Possin saw an ad when she was thinking about buying a new car. She went to the site, entered her credit information and received a credit report. Six months later, she noticed charges of $14.95 on her credit card statement.

Possin canceled the service and requested a refund, to no avail. So she decided to sue, becoming the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Experian seeking to "stop the fraud and seek compensation for the tens of thousands of consumers deceived by Experian's free credit reports dot com. to the tune of millions of fraudulently obtained profits."

The suit alleges that Experian requires consumers to enter personal information when they go to the Web site, which it then uses to enroll them into its Triple Advantage credit-monitoring program -- and charges them $14.95 per month -- without letting them know.

The suit charges that free credit reports dot com. ads misrepresent the costs of the service it provides to consumers," Possin's lawyer, John Balestriere, told CNNMoney.com. "The only price mentioned anywhere is 'free,'" he said.

Courthouse News Services first reported the lawsuit.

The Better Business Bureau has received more than 11,000 complaints about free credit reports dot com., and Experian has settled two charges with the Federal Trade Commission over deceptive-advertising charges related to another of its credit-monitoring sites, Consumerinfo.com.

The http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/alerts/facta.html, which was passed in 2003, required the credit-reporting bureaus -- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- to each provide one free copy per year of a person's credit report upon request.

That's all they want is to call it "free" and to rebill. They're making a killing, that's how they can afford commercials every 2 seconds. It's deceptive, it's blackhat.

I don't see how it can be illegal at all, their TOS that their customers agree to CLEARLY state that if they do not cancel within 9 days, they will be billed $14.95 per month.

People are just stupid.

I am afraid its more than blackhat, otherwise it wouldn't be investigated. Its fraud straight and simple. So is just about every other CPA offer that has been pushed including free trials of acai and such. This gig is so over.

markyr17 said:

I don't see how it can be illegal at all, their TOS that their customers agree to CLEARLY state that if they do not cancel within 9 days, they will be billed $14.95 per month.

People are just stupid.

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Once you enter you credit card information then you won't be able to cancel it. They are hard to reach everytime you call them to cancel, Call directly connects to Answering machine.

Knoxgates said:

Once you enter you credit card information then you won't be able to cancel it. They are hard to reach everytime you call them to cancel, Call directly connects to Answering machine.

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Very interesting, that I did not know...

If its stated in their TOS then no one should get a penny back... i hope they win...

"... remove all the safety warnings and let natural selection take its course ... "

that'll teach the college student to read the fine print...

Hijinx said:

If its stated in their TOS then no one should get a penny back... i hope they win...

"... remove all the safety warnings and let natural selection take its course ... "

that'll teach the college student to read the fine print...

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It's not so easy when FTC or Government gets involved.

Hijinx said:

If its stated in their TOS then no one should get a penny back... i hope they win...

"... remove all the safety warnings and let natural selection take its course ... "

that'll teach the college student to read the fine print...

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Dude, the consumers of this world are not just some mindless sheep waiting to be plucked off cause they don't read all the fine print. These people make thousands of decisions each year and cannot be expected to know or remember every clause with every product, therefore they are entitled to some protection. Saying stupid people is just a cover for a scam.

markyr17 said:

I don't see how it can be illegal at all, their TOS that their customers agree to CLEARLY state that if they do not cancel within 9 days, they will be billed $14.95 per month.

People are just stupid.

Click to expand...

CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE $100 BILL IN YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT




























Terms and Conditions: The following are the terms and conditions of clicking on the link above. Please read the terms and conditions before clicking the Free $100 bill in your paypal account. If you are happy with your 100 dollar bill, then do nothing. Spend and enjoy your free 100 dollar bill on anything you like. In two weeks, your paypal will be charged a non refundable one hundred and fifty dollars every day for the rest of your life. Your clicking the link makes this a binding agreement, therefore, you agree to have us charge your paypal account one hundred and fifty dollars everyday for the rest of your life in exchange for a free $100 bill. We will also take control over your bank account and receive ownership of your home and car(s). If you do not wish to be charged one hundred and fifty dollars, you may cancel your membership at anytime. Call us toll free at 1 800 FRE CASH. You will also need to mail in 2 forms of identification (drivers license and birth certificate). Expect to be on hold for about an hour and then you will be connected to our non english speaking representative who will be happy to cancel your membership, while signing you up for at least 100 other offers. Please keep in mind that that a two hundred dollar cancellation fee will be charged to your credit card. If you do not want to go through the hassle of all of this, do not click the link. If you did click the link before you read the terms and conditions, it goes to show you how stupid you are for not reading tos like you should have..
Disclaimer: Adding the Terms and conditions above voids us of any legal action against us. When you click on the link above, you are agreeing that in exchange for a free $100 bill in your paypal account, your paypal account will be charged a total of one hundred and fifty dollars everyday. You clicking on the link means that you will not seek legal action against us.

How many of you read the tos before clicking the link?

tygrus said:

Dude, the consumers of this world are not just some mindless sheep waiting to be plucked off cause they don't read all the fine print. These people make thousands of decisions each year and cannot be expected to know or remember every clause with every product, therefore they are entitled to some protection. Saying stupid people is just a cover for a scam.

Click to expand...

Anyone who is mindless enough to enter all their personal information, especially their social security number and credit card information, without reading the terms, deserves what they get.

It's one thing if the terms are not there and their credit card is billed out of nowhere, but the site states that they will be billed, so how do you feel these people have been deceived? Because these people are too lazy to read the terms, how does that make the offer a scam?

People are always looking for someone to bail them out when they screw up. Maybe they'll be asking the government for a credit report bailout assistance plan soon....

jburrtucaz said:

Anyone who is mindless enough to enter all their personal information, especially their social security number and credit card information, without reading the terms, deserves what they get.

It's one thing if the terms are not there and their credit card is billed out of nowhere, but the site states that they will be billed, so how do you feel these people have been deceived? Because these people are too lazy to read the terms, how does that make the offer a scam?

People are always looking for someone to bail them out when they screw up. Maybe they'll be asking the government for a credit report bailout assistance plan soon....

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wiki:

Experian is chiefly regulated in the United States by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, signed into law in 2003, amended the FCRA to require the credit reporting companies to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report per 12 month period. Like its main competitors, TransUnion and Equifax, Experian markets credit reports directly to consumers. Experian heavily markets its for-profit credit reporting service, ********************************.com, and all three agencies have been criticized and even sued for selling credit reports that can be obtained at no cost.

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Experian isn't the username of some scammer on a forum, it's a trusted credit reporting agency that's regulated by the govt...that's why pple trust them w/their personal information.

This is currently on the front page of their site and if I remember correctly something is mentioned in the commercials (but it could be another free credit report ad) about a membership

tonlilaz said:

CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE $100 BILL IN YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT




























Terms and Conditions: The following are the terms and conditions of clicking on the link above. Please read the terms and conditions before clicking the Free $100 bill in your paypal account. If you are happy with your 100 dollar bill, then do nothing. Spend and enjoy your free 100 dollar bill on anything you like. In two weeks, your paypal will be charged a non refundable one hundred and fifty dollars every day for the rest of your life. Your clicking the link makes this a binding agreement, therefore, you agree to have us charge your paypal account one hundred and fifty dollars everyday for the rest of your life in exchange for a free $100 bill. We will also take control over your bank account and receive ownership of your home and car(s). If you do not wish to be charged one hundred and fifty dollars, you may cancel your membership at anytime. Call us toll free at 1 800 FRE CASH. You will also need to mail in 2 forms of identification (drivers license and birth certificate). Expect to be on hold for about an hour and then you will be connected to our non english speaking representative who will be happy to cancel your membership, while signing you up for at least 100 other offers. Please keep in mind that that a two hundred dollar cancellation fee will be charged to your credit card. If you do not want to go through the hassle of all of this, do not click the link. If you did click the link before you read the terms and conditions, it goes to show you how stupid you are for not reading tos like you should have..
Disclaimer: Adding the Terms and conditions above voids us of any legal action against us. When you click on the link above, you are agreeing that in exchange for a free $100 bill in your paypal account, your paypal account will be charged a total of one hundred and fifty dollars everyday. You clicking on the link means that you will not seek legal action against us.

How many of you read the tos before clicking the link?

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I knew somebody was going to go to the extreme, and be stupid about it.

When you're putting in your credit card online, yes, read the damn terms and conditions, it's just common sense.

Well, I guess it's not too "common"

markyr17 said:

I knew somebody was going to go to the extreme, and be stupid about it.

When you're putting in your credit card online, yes, read the damn terms and conditions, it's just common sense.

Well, I guess it's not too "common"

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i bet you clicked the link anyway

tonlilaz said:

wiki:
Experian isn't the username of some scammer on a forum, it's a trusted credit reporting agency that's regulated by the govt...that's why pple trust them w/their personal information.

Click to expand...

Understood. But again, how is it a scam when the terms are clearly stated on page?

It's one thing if the person, after reading and understanding the terms of the free credit report offer, calls to cancel within the 7 day period and gets the runaround and their card is still billed. That is fraudulant and will get you thrown in jail...ask Steve Warshak, former owner of the company that makes Enzyte (those annoying Smiling Bob ads). But if the person was just too lazy to read the terms that they were agreeing to, then how is it a scam?

People like to blame others for their failures instead of looking in the mirror. If you sign a real life on paper contract without reading it, no matter how small the print, you are still bound to the terms of that agreement.

How is this any different?

tonlilaz said:

http://memegenerator.net/Instances/225/Cool-Dog--Youre-a-fucking-idiot.jpg




























Terms and Conditions: The following are the terms and conditions of clicking on the link above. Please read the terms and conditions before clicking the Free $100 bill in your paypal account. If you are happy with your 100 dollar bill, then do nothing. Spend and enjoy your free 100 dollar bill on anything you like. In two weeks, your paypal will be charged a non refundable one hundred and fifty dollars every day for the rest of your life. Your clicking the link makes this a binding agreement, therefore, you agree to have us charge your paypal account one hundred and fifty dollars everyday for the rest of your life in exchange for a free $100 bill. We will also take control over your bank account and receive ownership of your home and car(s). If you do not wish to be charged one hundred and fifty dollars, you may cancel your membership at anytime. Call us toll free at 1 800 FRE CASH. You will also need to mail in 2 forms of identification (drivers license and birth certificate). Expect to be on hold for about an hour and then you will be connected to our non english speaking representative who will be happy to cancel your membership, while signing you up for at least 100 other offers. Please keep in mind that that a two hundred dollar cancellation fee will be charged to your credit card. If you do not want to go through the hassle of all of this, do not click the link. If you did click the link before you read the terms and conditions, it goes to show you how stupid you are for not reading tos like you should have..
Disclaimer: Adding the Terms and conditions above voids us of any legal action against us. When you click on the link above, you are agreeing that in exchange for a free $100 bill in your paypal account, your paypal account will be charged a total of one hundred and fifty dollars everyday. You clicking on the link means that you will not seek legal action against us.

How many of you read the tos before clicking the link?

Click to expand...

tonilaz made a new version of yours

how about this? BHW ftw. this is random text blabla dont read this before watching the tos





















Terms and Conditions: The following are the terms and conditions of reading the text above. Please read the terms and conditions before reading this text above. If you have read the above text, then do nothing. Spend and enjoy your reading. In two weeks, your paypal will be charged a non refundable one hundred and fifty dollars every day for the rest of your life. You reading the aboive text makes this a binding agreement, therefore, you agree to have us charge your paypal account one hundred and fifty dollars everyday for the rest of your life you also agree that you belong to me, meaning you are my slave and you need to do what i say or you will go to jail for lifetime.


now, How many of you read the tos before reading the text?

jburrtucaz said:

Understood. But again, how is it a scam when the terms are clearly stated on page?

It's one thing if the person, after reading and understanding the terms of the free credit report offer, calls to cancel within the 7 day period and gets the runaround and their card is still billed. That is fraudulant and will get you thrown in jail...ask Steve Warshak, former owner of the company that makes Enzyte (those annoying Smiling Bob ads). But if the person was just too lazy to read the terms that they were agreeing to, then how is it a scam?

People like to blame others for their failures instead of looking in the mirror. If you sign a real life on paper contract without reading it, no matter how small the print, you are still bound to the terms of that agreement.

How is this any different?

Click to expand...

I m sending you my affiliate link . All you have to do is go through the terms and conditions and apply for the trial offer. Just try to cancel that offer before trial finishes. Is that OK...

P.s :
Nobody receive that phone calls when they call their support to cancel the trial offer. It call gets connected also they have to wait 20-25 mins just to speak an agent.

They say in the commercials you have to enroll in the triple advantage.. Duh its gonna charge you money. People need to realize that if a free trial or credit report or anything needs a credit card, that means YOU have to cancel if you dont want charges, otherwise they wouldnt want your CC(unless your dumb enough to think it really is just for shipping or processing) If people understood that along with some other basics, there would be a hell of a lot less whining on the internet.

Well this is definitely not fraud but is sure deceptive. It makes people believe that they are getting something free when it is not. If you are advertising the free service you should make it clearly visible that you will be charged, else it is not fair to the naive man.

But a ruling on this sure will make our jobs difficult.