Complaint Review: ConsumerInfocom CIC Credit Monitor - Orange California

Letter written to Consumer info.com :

I am writing to inform you of my extreme dissatisfaction and frustration incurred during a recent visit to your website, consumerinfo.com

I was intrigued by the offer of a free credit report, delivered online, as your online banner indicated. I recently applied for my first credit card and wanted to see what sort of information, if any, the credit bureaus had on my record. I thought I had read through all of the information about the service you claim to provide, but obviously that was not the case when an unexpected charge for $79.95 appeared on my checking account statement.

Your webpage could not be more explicit and misleading in its offer of a FREE credit report. The fine print at the bottom of the page did not allude to any charges or fees. In fact, the statement emphasized the fact that the service is free, and that there is no obligation and no commitment.

I am dismayed that a company purporting to be a consumer advocate could partake in such outlandish and abhorrently unfair and dishonest business practices.

In order to trace the origin of the charge on my bank statement (that wasnt supposed to be there in the first place), I ran a quick search on the internet for CIC Credit Monitor and was surprised to find several matches. However, none of which were a link to your actual website; rather a website with the URL www.badbusinessbureau.com was at the top of the list.

I looked at the description, Rip-Off Report.com and wondered if there was some connection between the less than forthcoming nature of the company to whom I had furnished much of my private financial and contact information.

I would encourage you to forward this letter to the executives in your company. They may want to start polishing up their resumes; I am obviously not the only consumer that has been victimized by your fraudulent activities. In fact, there were over 60 other entries about your company and supposedly free credit reports!

I have notified my bank and asked that the charge be reversed and to deny any future attempted debits from your company.

Please also note that I am very serious about my statements here and intend to follow up to ensure that this matter is not overlooked. As you will notice at the end of this letter, several other organizations will be receiving copies of this correspondence.

You should certainly consult legal counsel because in the event that my claim is not approved, I will have no other option but to pursue forcible means of recovering my funds, plus additional expenses. The claims you have made on your website are deceptive, misleading, and designed specifically to catch people like me, who simply would like to take advantage of a credit report offer. Irrespective of any claim that you may make, your service is not free and should most definitely not be construed as such.

The fine print

should not be hidden away and concealed so that people will not be able to get the entire story on what they are getting themselves into.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via e-mail at [email protected]. Lastly, I should also bring to your attention my status as a student at a major liberal arts college on the west coast. Rest assured that every student on this campus will be made aware of the fraudulent activities associated with your company. Hopefully this will prevent any more consumers from your deceptive and misrepresentative advertising tactics.

cc: TruSecure

Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

State of California Attorney General's Office

Better Business Bureau

Bill

Portland, Oregon
U.S.A.