Since FreeCreditReport.com isn’t exactly free, a new credit-card law passed by Congress has some implications for our hapless credit-challenged friend and the campaign featuring him.
From The Huffington Post:
The “free credit report” advertised non-stop on cable television, it bears repeating, isn’t free at all. The law calls for the Federal Trade Commission to issue new rules that will force free credit report advertisers to inform consumers that the only place for a free credit report is AnnualCreditReport.com.
Television and radio ads will also be required to include a pretty deflating statement: “This is not the free credit report provided for by Federal law.”
Under the Bush administration, the FTC repeatedly fined the folks behind freecreditreport.com for deceptive advertising, since you only get the “free” report after enrolling in a $15-a-month credit monitoring program. But the fines amounted to mere wrist-slaps.
The media buy on this thing was huge. Those spots were everywhere, and they made an impact. But I assume the client and The Martin Agency knew they were fudging the truth here.
