I’m glad the new credit card reform bill is going to curb bad practices by the credit card industry, but what really caught my attention was the provision that requires companies like FreeCreditReport.com to clearly state that the services they offer are not free.
Earlier this year I reported on Boing Boing that I had been misled into thinking that FreeCreditReport.com was the same thing as AnnualCreditReport.com, a truly free credit report service. I had no idea I’d actually signed up for a $15/month credit monitoring service until I saw the charge on my bank statement.
Well, it turns out that there are an awful lot of people like me. And the government is doing something about it. Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post reported that the new credit card reform law will require FreeCreditReport.com and its ilk to disclose that the only free credit report available is AnnualCreditReport.com. Ads must also state: “This is not the free credit report provided for by Federal law.”
The only bad thing about this new requirement is that we won’t get to see any more videos like this one.
Mark Frauenfelder – Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular Boing Boing weblog, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online.
Mark Frauenfelder Credit.com contributor, editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular site Boing Boing, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online. He covers creative DIY projects and how-tos that will help you make the most of your money.
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