Experian

A question about : Experian

Before you do business with Experian, make sure to read the following links. Experian has a long track record of being unscrupulous, being fined on more than one occasion.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...ss_action.html

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/privacy/experian.html

https://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/11277/page/1

https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/01/busysignal.shtm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experian#Controversies

https://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudicati..._ADJ_45538.htm

https://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudicati..._ADJ_45826.htm

edit: Note that as of August 2009, the ASA have taken the view that I was correct in my assertion, i.e. that Experian have tried to obfuscate the fact that I was signing up to be recurrently billed, i.e. not a free trial. Experian were first fined in 2005 for this practice - it's nice to know they're carrying on the company's tradition.

Whilst, as you will see, the forum's bullies didn't agree with my point of view (Experian employees are known to visit this site), the ASA took my side and adjudicated as such :-)

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Hi,

Having clicked on an advert offering a 'free credit report' from Experian, I decided to take advantage - to check nothing untoward was going on in my name. When inputting my details, I was given the following message (copied from their site):

Quote:

As can be seen, the registration wording is engineered to make the user believe Experian need their card details for the credit check, not so that they can be billed on a recurring basis. Having checked my credit card statement, I was horrified to see that Experian had charged me on several occasions for a subscription I never knew I had. The above message in no way makes it clear that, after 30 days, the user's credit card is automatically debited, and recurrently every 30 days thereafter.

How ironic is it, that people use Experian to check that they're not having debts incurred in their name without their permission, when all the time, Experian is doing exactly that!

Whereas my complaint is merely pointing out that Experian are using cleverly-worded statements to earn money by stealth, others have experienced far, far more worrying problems with Experian: consumeraffairs.com/privacy/experian.html

Experian are old hands at using customers' credit cards for stealth profit:

Taken from Wikipedia
Quote:

complaintsboard.com/complaints/11277/page1

Experian's history of using stealth to make a sneaky buck goes back a long way, getting fined on this occasion:

Ftc.gov/opa/2000/01/busysignal.shtm

Put 'www' before the links to get them to work

You have been warned!

Best answers:

• I've signed up for this before and it was crystal clear you'd get billed if you didn't cancel.
  I don't think you've read it carefully enough.
  But thanks for warning people anyway.
• https://www.consumeraffairs.com/privacy/experian.html
  https://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/11277/page/1
  https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/01/busysignal.shtm
  What's worrying about Experian's complaints records isn't, as with many large companies, that they make errors - far from it. The persistent theme is that their sole motive is to extract as much as they can from users via stealth - without a thought for the consumer.
  Make sure to read the links - not a nice company.
• I also took the opportunity to view my creditfile for the free 30 days and it was clear at the time you had to cancel before the term ended or be billed.Was quite suprised not to get hassled when cancelling infact operater was very polite
• I can well imagine Experian have employees that are members of this site. I've actually been instructed by companies I used to work for that I should sign up to forums and extol their virtues.
  Read the other links - a nice company, not.
• Hate to be the one to say it but none of this is new news with Experian.
• I also carried out a check, updated my voters roll details and then cancelled before the 30 days was up. I will check to see that I have not been charged. Again the operator I spoke to was very helpful.
  Money saving this money is doing a bit of DIY - painting bedrooms/hall etc with the paint runner which is doing the job in half the time. Money saved so far I'm sure is in the region of Ј200 and more.
• MSE Martin has information on the how to get free trials offered by Experian and Equifax and also how to get out of them here.
  J_B.
• The wording from the page that asks for your card details seems pretty clear to me -
  Why do we need your card details?
  We need your card to verify your identity. If you choose to stay as a member after your free 30 day trial your card will be charged the monthly membership fee of Ј6.99.
  Don’t worry, your card will NOT be charged for membership during your free 30 day trial and there is no obligation to continue with the service after the trial period.
• Well maybe he needs to stop watching porn. It happens all over the internet. Would you give me your card details without fully checking what i intended to do with them first?
• I've been using Experian off and on to check my credit file for the last couple of years. I've never had any problems when calling to cancel the subscription. I like to check every 3-6 months and always call them to cancel subscrpition a few days after paying. Experian then tell me when my access will expire.
  As someone else said, the 'small print' is pretty clear on fees and payment.
• I too must say that I think they make it very clear that you must cancel to prevent your card being charged.
  They also make it easy to do so, I've done it myself.
  Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Experian but in this case I don't think they're being sneaky or acting like a 'porn' site.
  UNDERGROUND
• Callcredit did the same, then gave me pure BS for 6 weeks making every excuse they could not to refund me for the Ј12 they took from my card on day 1 of my "free 3 month trial"
  I have had to chargeback my Credit Card as they are refusing to accept their advert is a misleading con trick!