Reading is a useful skill, more people should try it when it comes to the fine print on sites like FreeCreditReport.com.

The Paper of Record has a piece about the notorious Experian-owned website with the overpowered advertising budget. Imagine my extreme shock in reading how people are being taken for a monthly credit-monitoring service fee:

But a couple of months later, Mr. Steele noticed the site had been charging his credit card. While he believed he had signed up for a free report, he had actually enrolled in a credit-monitoring service that cost $14.95 a month. He says he never expected that it would cost anything.

“It’s called FreeCreditReport.com,” he said. “It’s kind of easy to make that assumption. I didn’t see anything in the process of signing up that said, ‘Hey, if you don’t cancel in 30 days or whatever, you’re going to get charged.’ ”

US consumers may request a true free credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, however it does not include credit scores. That’s something the agencies charge for as a service.

People can avoid being caught up in the jingly advertising by being a little more skeptical about someone offering anything for free. Robert Heinlein wrote “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” and that applies to credit reports as well.