FreeCreditReport.com Wins 1,017 Domains By UDRP 184
typosquatting writes to mention that the largest domain dispute case since the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) was enacted ten years ago has been decided. The decision saw 1,017 cyber-squatting domains turned over to ConsumerInfo.com, owner of FreeCreditReport.com. The full decision can be read via the National Arbitration Forum website. "It would seem that this decision sets or reinforces a fairly strong precedent that trademark holders may be entitled to, not only to the domain name that exactly matches their trademark, but also to a wide swath of other domain names including nearly every possible misspelling or other variation of that trademark, potentially even if the trademark is comprised of generic words."
freecreditreport.com sucks ass. (Score:5, Informative)
use annualcreditreport.com instead (Score:5, Informative)
FreeCreditReport.com charges $15 and is run by lying, typo-squatting douches at Experian [google.com].
Re:Liar beats other liars? Mod up (Score:5, Informative)
Don't get me wrong though, it was kind of neat getting real time credit scores on your account, an email alert every time some yahoo looked at your report, and access to a one click instant credit lock. But in the end, unless your going to buy a house or a car you don't really need up to the second data on your report.
Though, to be honest, I think we should be given access, atleast once a month rather than once a year. Its not like the data is that hard to display and it be far more useful to check for credit card fraud.
Freecreditreport.com is a criminal scam (Score:5, Informative)
The New York Times recently did an extensive article on this scam [nytimes.com].
The entire basis of their operation is to fool people into paying for something advertised as free. They claim that their site discloses its fees, but the disclosure is still discrete enough to fool massive numbers of people.
Any site where you make a purchase should disclose the fact that you are making a purchase with at least the level of clarity that you encounter on a reputable site such as Amazon.com. Also a service that advertises itself as "free" should never be allowed to charge -- even if they gratuitously disclosed their fee (which they don't) it would still be a bait an switch scam.
Re:Liar beats other liars? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Liar beats other liars? Mod up (Score:5, Informative)
Tip: There are three credit agencies. You can check each one once a year for free. Check a different one every four months ...
Re:Freecreditreport.com is a criminal scam (Score:4, Informative)
Re:use annualcreditreport.com instead (Score:3, Informative)
The reporting agencies directly:
http://www.transunion.com/ [transunion.com]
http://www.equifax.com/home/en_us [equifax.com]
http://www.experian.com/ [experian.com]
Re:Liar beats other liars? Mod up (Score:5, Informative)
Not true. Applying for new lines of credit will lower your score, but checking it yourself will not. See http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6c-CreditScores.htm#5 [privacyrights.org]
Its's a ripoff of "annualcreditreport.com". (Score:5, Informative)
FreeCreditReport is a ripoff of AnnualCreditReport.com [annualcreditreport.com], the real free site which the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires the three major credit bureaus to maintain at their expense.
"ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. and Freecreditreport.com are not affiliated with the annual free credit report program. Under a new Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. To request your free annual report under that law, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com."
Re:Really horrible (Score:3, Informative)
How is talking trash fooling people into thinking your that site?
It's not. I made two separate points. But you're going to have a hard time getting sympathy from a judge if you're obviously antagonizing the other site owner.
Erm (Score:3, Informative)
Has to be said : what exactly do you get "for free" from freecreditreport.com? You can't get any information without paying and signing up for a service that you have to beg the phone reps to get canceled. Scarier still, the company that runs the site has the power to truly screw you over if you contest the charges on your credit card, since they ARE one of the credit reporting companies.
slashdot has been trolled. (Score:5, Informative)
The submitter's name is "typosquatting." The linked article was written by Alias Encore's PR flack , and exists for the sole purpose of selling Alias-Encore's software and services-- namely "helping companies increase highly qualified traffic to their websites through the strategic acquisition of misspelled domain names."
FCR.c Is a Total Scam (Score:3, Informative)
FreeCreditReport.com is a total scam. It's not free - you have to pay to get the report. But everyone's entitled to a free credit report once a year anyway, direct from the reporting corps, under US credit laws.
And now that scam has funded this evil precedent.
Goddamn the lawyers.
Re:Liar beats other liars? (Score:3, Informative)
The FTC didn't set it up. The big three set it up to comply with the FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act). Although I agree that a .gov would have been much more apropos.
Denied? You get a free credit report (Score:3, Informative)
This is data that is used to deny you bank loans
When a U.S. lender uses a credit report to deny you a loan, you have the right under the FCRA to know which bureau the lender used, so you can get a copy of your credit report yourself.
DO NOT USE FREECREDITREPORT.COM (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Liar beats other liars? Mod up (Score:3, Informative)
No, no, no, absolutely not!
It does not always work.
Look up:
Moral hazard problem
Coase theorem (negative externalities in an unowned resource, e.g. the air/environment)
Those two things should be enough to show that the free market doesn't always work. And, of course, there's the problem with monopolies as you said.