...

*** Transcript: One day, Laura called the number for AnnualCreditReport.com. She wanted to check her credit, and she knew their credit reports were really free. Two weeks later, Laura got her free report in the mail. That same day, her husband Tony saw an ad for a free credit score. He went online to get his free score. He thought it was cool to know his number. He figured it would tell him whether he had good or bad credit. But Laura was happy to know that the information in her report was right – and that it said she paid her bills on time. Tony still thought he got the better deal. Sure, Laura could see her credit information. But he knew his score. And it was free. But a month later, Tony changed his mind. His credit card bill had a strange charge for a credit monitoring service. It turns out, his “free” score signed him up to pay $29.99 a month for credit monitoring. He got his credit card to cancel the charge…but Tony didn’t think he got the better deal anymore. ******************************************** The Federal Trade Commission deals with issues that touch the economic life of every American. It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy. The FTC pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement; advances consumers' interests by sharing its expertise with federal and state legislatures and U.S. and international government agencies; develops policy and research tools through hearings, workshops, and conferences; and creates practical and plain-language educational programs for consumers and businesses in a global marketplace with constantly changing technologies. Comment Moderation Policy We welcome your comments and thoughts about the information on this page. If you do have something to say, please be courteous and respectful to other commenters. We won't routinely review or edit any comments before they are posted, but we will delete any comments that: 1) contain spam or are off-topic 2) use vulgar language or offensive terms that target specific groups or contain personal attacks 3) are sales pitches, promotions, urls or links to commercial sites 4) spread clearly misleading or false information or 5) include personal information, like home addresses