Is this a scam? “ScoreSense preys on customers”

Richard Mitchell has a problem with a company called ScoreSense. A big problem.

ScoreSense provides a credit score, identity protection and credit monitoring service. It offers its subscription for a low introductory rate — free, which includes an initial credit report. When Mitchell responded to an ad through an online brokerage firm, he was charged just $1.

Then he received his credit card bill.

ScoreSense had billed him $29.95.

That didn’t sit well with Mitchell, who had expected free to actually mean free.

He writes,

I disputed the charge with ScoreSense but they denied it by saying “they sent me a welcoming e-mail and in it they quoted I had 7 days to cancel or else I would be charged $29.95 monthly.

First, they never sent me a welcoming e-mail. If they had I would have cancelled their program.

And second, he says he never received his “free” report.

“The bottom line: ScoreSense preys on customers to get their money and rejects any and all disputes to return the money,” he says.

He wants to know — is this a scam?

Well, let’s break this down. ScoreSense seems to have a good answer for the missing email. Check out the frequently asked questions section of its site.

Within 24 hours after signing up with ScoreSense, you should receive a Welcome e-mail containing important membership information. If you did not receive this important e-mail, check your Spam folder and make sure to add customercare@scoresense.com to your address book. Also visit your account page to ensure we have your correct address on file.

Question is, was its pricing disclosed prominently on its site?

Not really. Even when I try to sign up for the service, it doesn’t prominently display its rates. (Even clicking on its terms and conditions doesn’t reveal the price.)

That makes me uncomfortable.

ScoreSense gets plenty of complaints from people who feel they were snookered into signing up.

The Federal Trade Commission even warns against “free” credit report companies. (By the way, here’s how to get a real free report.)

So, to answer Mitchell, this may technically be a legal operation, but its tactics are questionable.

(Photo: Red/Flickr)



  • cjr

    Why does anybody sign up for these ‘free’ services? While I don’t know if they necessarily qualify as a scam, everybody should know by now that these are actually subscriptions that are difficult to end.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LOCND3JAJL4PGYWJBHUT3HWAZM web/gadget guru

    All of these credit reporting services are a scam…They don’t do *ANYTHING* you can’t do yourself. And usually at a greater expense than it would cost you if you did do it yourself! All three reporting agencies are required to send you a credit report once a year if you request it…So what are these credit reporting companies doing for the money you are sending you?

  • Grant

    Thanks for the link to the free reports.  I just printed out all three of mine… trouble free and clean as a whistle. :-)

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HMW3OTJSBDWWRKIEKEKWWM7BEA bc

    When will consumers learn that any company offering you a “free trial” with the stipulation that they need your credit card is going to be nothing but scam? Seriously, these companies feed on the fact that people don’t read the follow-up emails and or don’t check their credit card statements.

    This is no different than people winning a prize and then being asked for $20 for postage. If they ask for money or a credit card number up front it isn’t going to be free..EVER.

  • Ajaynejr

    But how did the credit card company resolve the dispute?

    If they are advertising a credit report (or a calculator or a flashlight, etc.) a for one dollar and you give them your credit card number to pay for that then you are certainly entitled to dispute any other charges that you did not approve.

  • Anonymous

    OK  people, listen up:
    All of those stupid ads with silly jingles and Ben Stein advertising “Free Credit Reports” or “Free Credit Scores” ARE SCAMS.

    Everyone in the US is guaranteed a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year. Really free, not these “free when we bill you for our phony service.”

  • David Briseno

    I was incensed when I viewed my bank statement and there it was, similar to sputum hocked up and spat onto the cyber sidewalk. A charge for $29.95, accomplished without my authorization or consent. Scam? these companies abscond with our money only to  appear with another web site and new name. I recall that I signed up for a payday loan ( due to the time of the year), within 24 hours I was inundated with phone calls pleading that I join there clubs. I await for “Cheese of thr month” to start sending me orders for some type of Goodah Cheese to show up in my mail box stenching up everyone’s mail box.  

  • Barbara_lattimer

    I have also been charged an unauthoried charge by these people, I’m just learning who they are even! I never did any of these things to get them to pray on me, nor has others, we just want our money back!

  • Sqrlson

    Scoresense is ok. I actually pay $9.99 a month for it. Just call up and tell them you see it cheaper somewhere else. Also, notice up top on the left hand collum you see an ad and link for http://www.FreeScoreOnline.com , if you click on it you’ll see that it’s powered by ScoreSense. This very blog that’s arguing its credability is not only advertising the same company but making money doing so. What a strange form of marketing…..

  • LordVengeance

    I signed up for a free trial with these idiots (on 19Apr12), which was supposed to be a free 7 day free trial, and on the 2nd day of the free trial (20Apr12), they had ALREADY taken the money out of my account for a month membership. I called my bank because I had no idea why money had come out of my account, & found out it was Scoresense. It STATES in their terms and conditions that if you cancel before the 7 day trial that you will NOT be charged, and they make this VERY clear. Well…they had already taken it out of my account (not a hold, either, but completely out), on the 2nd day of my free trial (on the 20th, which wasn’t supposed to come out until after the 7 days, IF I didn’t cancel). I promptly cancelled my account with them (on the 2nd day of the free trial) & requested a refund (on 20Apr12). These morons then sent me an email on the 24th of April telling me they were denying my refund because I hadn’t cancelled my free trial before the 7 days were up. Now realize, I signed up for the 7 day free trial on the 19th, then cancelled on the 20th. They sent me the denial of refund email on the 24th. Had I NOT cancelled, my trial wouldn’t have even been up until the 26th. Can these guys even do basic math? They sent me an email telling me they wouldn’t refund my money because I hadn’t cancelled before the trial had ended 2 DAYS before the trial would have even ended !!??!!
    These guys are frauds and just trying to get your credit card #. They have done this to alot of people. People that have cancelled are STILL being charged/ripped off, some even being charged for months after they’ve cancelled, EVEN those like me who DID read the fine print and cancelled BEFORE the 7 day free trial was up. I’ve got printed copies of all emails, etc. and am still trying to get this money refunded. I’m working with my bank now (For god’s sake if this happens to you, CALL YOUR BANK and tell them not to take any more transactions from Scoresense), and will be contacting the Better Business Bureau (among others), and possibly a lawyer.
    Avoid these thieves like a plague, they are definitely crooks.