It’s a new year which makes it a good time to review your credit report. I went to annualcreditreport.com, answered a few questions to verify my identity and proceeded to my credit report. As I completed my review, I couldn’t help but notice the offer about getting my credit score (can you say cross-selling opportunity?). When I clicked on the button…

What’s the catch?

• Well the $4.95 offer comes with an asterisk and then this fine print “$4.95 for your first month, then just $19.95 each additional month.”
  • More and more credit card companies and websites are offering FREE credit scores so the days of paying for a score are probably numbered.
• Oh, by the way, again from the small print, “your lender or insurer may use a different FICO Score than FICO 8…”
  • Kinda interesting that TransUnion and Equifax were recently fined $23 million by CFPB for “deceiving consumers about the usefulness and actual cost of credit scores they sold to consumers. The companies also lured consumers into costly recurring payments for credit-related products with false promises.” Well, at least they put in some fine print, I hope consumers read it!

________

Teach your students to read the fine print with the new NGPF product Fine Print.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

More posts by Tim