Experian subsidiary paid another $300,000 after FTC alleged it violated its previous free-credit-report settlement

Summary

The Federal Trade Commission returned to court against ConsumerInfo.com, doing business as Experian Consumer Direct, in 2007 over advertising for its free credit-report service. The case was particularly significant because it followed the FTC's 2005 enforcement action concerning substantially similar marketing practices. Under the 2005 settlement, Experian Consumer Direct had been required to clearly and conspicuously disclose that consumers obtaining a free credit report would automatically be enrolled in a paid credit-monitoring service unless they cancelled within the trial period. The FTC alleged that advertisements run after the 2005 settlement failed to comply with those disclosure requirements. According to the FTC, consumers responding to the advertised free-credit-report offer could again be automatically enrolled in a credit-monitoring program and charged $79.95. The FTC alleged that the company's failure to adequately disclose the automatic enrollment and charge violated the requirements imposed by the previous federal court settlement. The supplemental settlement required ConsumerInfo.com to surrender another $300,000. It also prohibited the company from misrepresenting any affiliation with the official annual credit-report program available to consumers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The 2007 action therefore represented a repeat regulatory intervention concerning Experian Consumer Direct's marketing of free credit reports only approximately eighteen months after the original settlement. Primary sources: Federal Trade Commission — ConsumerInfo.com Settles FTC Charges: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2007/02/consumerinfocom-settles-ftc-charges FTC case record — ConsumerInfo.com / Experian Consumer Direct: https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/022-3263-consumerinfocom-inc-dba-experian-consumer-direct-qspace-inc-iplace-inc