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This article is copyright, Paul Petillo (2005)

Once again, the financial industry has turned a simple and elegant idea, a consumer friendly notion that people could really use, and turn it into a fee based and somewhat deceptive product for the unwary.

This month, thirteen western states go live with the offer of free credit reports. The other three quarters of the nation will be added in segments over the next year with the mid-Atlantic states finally being added on September 1, 2006.

With all due respect to the idea of making money, the major players in this sector, Equifax, Experion, and TransUnion could quite possibly have stepped over the line. The previous law allowed you access to a free report if you were denied credit. The new law, the result of the huge wave of refinancing that has taken place over the last few years, allows future borrowers to check - and hopefully repair - their reports before they apply for the loan.

But here is where the new law goes awry:

Experion, through a site titled ConsumerInfo.org does provide the free report - in seconds - but not until you give them your credit card number and unwittingly sign up for monthly alerts for the modest fee of $9.95 a month. You have thirty days to cancel. For $.95 a month, they will monitor any changes in your report.

Equifax offers a slightly different service. They will give you the elusive credit score that lenders use to determine not only creditworthiness but ability to pay and the rate of interest. This subscription based service will cost you $6.95.

TransUnion offers an basket of services surrounding the word free - which is for a free credit score - that can cost as much as $29.95.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act was passed by Congress last December not only for borrowers to check their scores but to help protect consumers from the growing problem of identity theft.

And speaking of identity theft, this will, without a doubt open a whole new sector of e-mail fraud offering reports in exchange for sensitive information.

There is only one site that offers this report without costs and without strings.

AnnualCreditReport.com
P.O.Box 105281
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5281
1-877-322-8228

Rest assured, consumer advocates have approved this site. It offers three reports at once should you be making a major purchase from the major sites or you can receive them at various times throughout the year if you are monitoring identity theft. Either way, the information you provide is not sold.

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