You see the ads everywhere on the net – Free Credit Report. The problem is that consumers who sign up for their free reports often find themselves enrolled in a continuing program, one that charges fees for all subsequent services.

Recently Consumerinfo.com doing business as Experian Consumer Direct agreed to pay $300,000 to settle charges by the FTC that the company’s ads for its “free credit report” offer failed to disclose adequately the fact that consumers who signed up would be automatically enrolled in a credit-monitoring program and be charged $79.95.

The company had already paid $950,000 in August of 2005 to settle similar charges. Consumers were asked for credit card numbers to establish their accounts and automatically billed the $79.95 annual membership fee after a 3-month trial period. The FTC charges that following this settlement, the company continued to run deceptive ads about “free” reports.

Again, every consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually. These can be obtained by going to www.annualcreditreport.com.

You received an email that appears to come from a legitimate business offering to supply a free credit report to help you monitor and prevent identity theft. Don’t be fooled.

The email could very well be one of many scam emails circulating over the last two years. The recipient is directed to a site to fill out an application form.

The application form contains all the basic information you might expect to provide in order to request a credit report. The problem is that these sites are run by scammers.

The scammers now have everything they want. Instead of protecting yourself against identity theft you have just provided the scammers with all the information they need to make you a victim of it. They can now open accounts, get credit cards in your name and ruin your credit.

Everyone is entitled to one free credit report per year. According to the FTC, the only website authorized for this purpose is www.annualcreditreport.com.

According to the IRS, about 30 percent of early filers did not ask for the telephone tax refund, and almost half of those omissions were made by paid tax preparers.

“We are surprised how many tax preparers are overlooking the telephone tax refund,” IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said. “We want all taxpayers entitled to this refund to get it, whether they are using a tax preparer or doing the return themselves.”

The Internal Revenue Service today urged taxpayers to check to see if they qualify for the telephone excise tax refund after more than 10 million early filers did not request the one-time refund. For people requesting the telephone tax refund, it adds $30 to $60 — or even more — onto a refund.

For information and help on requesting the telephone tax refund, visit the IRS website.

A car is probably going to be your biggest expense outside of the purchase or rental of your home. Paying too much for a car through purchase price or financing can leave you in the hole if the vehicle is totalled in an accident or stolen. An insurance company is going to pay only the value of your car, not the exorbitant balance left on your finance interest. Another concern is retaining good re-sale or trade value if you plan on replacing your vehicle every few years.

Consumer Reports list the top 10 best cars for holding value and the bottom 10. Not surprisingly, all of the top 10 are imports. 9 of the bottom 10 are American made models.

Check out the list.