In this money make-over article in the Los Angeles Times, a financial planner recommended that her client "check her credit report twice a year online at www.freecreditreport.com." (Note: The video below does not reference this recommendation.)
If this financial planner is worth her salt, she should have pointed out that FreeCreditReport.com is run by Experian and charges $14.95/month until cancelled. Why didn’t this financial planner tell her client that everyone is entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major agencies through annualcreditreport.com?
She could have also advised her client that she can request one report from one of the credit bureaus every 3 to 4 months. This way, the client can check her credit report throughout the year for free through the official site. (For example, the client can request one credit report from Transunion in August, one from Equifax in December, and another from Experian in April.) This client certainly can’t afford to have $14.95 charged against her credit card every month.
I hope this was a typo and the Los Angeles Times issues a correction. If it’s indeed a typo, this confirms why FreeCreditReport.com’s marketing is misleading at best.
If this wasn’t a typo, this financial planner gave horrible advice with respect to this one item. This makes you wonder whether “financial planners” are worth their fee, doesn’t it?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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1 comments:
Seems the planner is either incompetent or she works for Experian. Either way the client needs to dump her FAST.
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