Experian's marketing formula for writing a sales pitch is hardly unique. Almost any marketer can open his or her e-mail tomorrow and read the same formula repeated in 100 different sales pitches for another opportunity to provide a product, service, or attend a seminar. The pitch will be in English, the language will be in doublespeak.

Second, the large headline above the button to get your report says "GET YOUR FREE CREDIT SCORE AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!" The inducement is misleading. It does not say get your free credit report, it says get your free credit score. You get your report and your credit score and some other services only by agreeing to sign up for the $14.95 a month service.

Someone eager to get their free report will hit the button for their free credit report and unwittingly subscribe to a service they neither need nor want. You must read the fine print on the page to know the difference.

This kind of inducement by Experian is hardly clear, straightforward, honest, ethical or anything else good; it is bad and wrong. The fact that advertisers can even do this legally is disturbing and obviously not regulated.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, respond to any other online pitches for your free credit report other than http://www.annualcreditreport.com (this is the government-mandated site) or you may be ripped off by an industry that is neither helpful nor trustworthy. Credit card reporting agencies are always giving poor, difficult customer service, making shyster offers and responding poorly when removing incorrect information from your credit report.

They are paid by businesses to only find and record any negative information about you. They could care less whether you drop dead on their front steps as long as they relieve you or your money first.

(Note: This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Series.)

Page 2 of 2 :: First | Last :: Prev | 1 2 | Next