When free ain't free

You've seen the goofball singing about his woes because he failed to get his free annual credit report. Now the guy has a point - we should all monitor our credit reports on a regular basis for inaccurate or out-of-date information, for signs of identity theft, and to be aware of a personal asset that is increasingly valuable in today's credit markets. So why are the three consumer credit reporting agencies - TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian - spending big bucks for something they are required by federal law to give away for free?

If you've ever visited annualcreditreport.com, you know the answer. Upon arriving at the site you are bombarded with ads for additional proprietary (for pay) services from each credit reporting agency. To navigate through the free site, you go into multiple pages of ads, some placed in ways that appear designed to confuse and lead the consumer away from free to pay.

Under the Credit Card Act of 2009, the Federal Trade Commission is required to amend the rules governing annual free credit reports by February 22, 2010. The FTC is accepting public comment through November 30, 2009. Read the proposed changes and submit your own comments at http://public.commentworks.com/ftc/FreeCreditReportNPRM.

Below is a summary of my comments:

• Credit bureaus should not be allowed to advertise additional pay services until AFTER the consumer has received the free credit report.
• Links to credit bureau websites should be on the annualcreditreport.com website only AFTER the consumer has received the free credit report. Links to pay services before that point are confusing and often lead consumers away from the freecreditreport.com site.
• If consumers click links on annualcreditreport.com that take them to a proprietary page, they should be greeted by a bold warning and disclosure: "THIS IS NOT THE FREE CREDIT REPORT PROVIDED FOR BY FEDERAL LAW."

Let the FTC know what you think about free annual credit reports. If we can make the process of keeping track of our credit as straightforward and easy as possible, without confusion and distractions, perhaps more Americans will take charge of their credit. That will be good news for everyone... except identity thieves.