FreeCreditReport.com is owned by Experian, the credit reporting bureau through its ConsumerInfo.com properties.
Our review of the ConsumerInfo.com Privacy Notice resulted in the following ratings: CYA, Good Disclosure, Avoid.
The Avoid rating represents a fail. In their policy, this Experian company asserts:
“We may disclose information about you to affiliated and non-affiliated third parties.”Some apparent boundaries are placed on the bald notice that they will share your information (see bottom of this alert) however there is a major trust barrier in this particular instance.
Experian’s primary business is collecting data on consumers and marketing that data to businesses for business purposes such as granting of credit, offering employment or even providing health insurance.
Where so much is at stake for individuals, anything less than a complete commitment to protecting your privacy is inadequate. A flat out assurance that your information will be shared is a failure.
The company also discloses that it WILL combine the personal information you provide with personal information about you that it finds through other means.
We believe this means, for example, that Experian will use you to increase the value of its products to business while charging you for the privilege.
Full excerpt:
We may disclose information about you to affiliated and non-affiliated third parties.
* Affiliates. We may disclose the information that we collect to our affiliated companies to provide the products you request, to enhance our products to better suit your needs, and from time to time for marketing purposes.
* Business Partners. We may partner with other companies to offer you products or services or to fulfill the products or services that you order. We may disclose personal information and/or non-personal or de-identified information collected about you to such third-party partners for the purposes described in this Policy.
* Service Providers. We work with third parties who provide services including but not limited to data analysis, order fulfillment, list enhancement and other administrative services. We may disclose personal information to such third parties for the purpose of enabling these third parties to provide services to us. Such services may include: marketing distribution, email list management services, advertising, certain product functionalities, customer support, web hosting, customer data management and enhancement, fulfillment services (e.g., companies that fill product orders or coordinate mailings), research and surveys, data analysis and email service.
