8 ms·

I have a free Experian account that I look at every few months. Every time I log in, a big, disorienting interstitial appears and pitches me on Experian Credit

I have a free Experian account that I look at every few months. Every time I log in, a big, disorienting interstitial appears and pitches me on Experian CreditWorks Premium ($25/month), with fields asking for my credit card info. It's designed like it's part of a normal registration/login process that you're supposed to fill in. You have to scroll down past all of it to the bottom of the page and click the washed-out, kind-of-disabled-looking button that says "No, keep my current membership", at which point they reluctantly take you to your normal account overview page.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
Please file an FTC complaint. It’ll get to the right people. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/10/ftc-ramp-enforcement-against-illegal-dark-patterns-trick-or-trap-consumers-subscriptions https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/10/... https://www.ftc.gov/reports/bringing-dark-patterns-light https://www.ftc.gov/reports/bringing-dark-patterns-light
- markdoubleyou 4y ago
  The problem is that they don't blatantly violate any of the policy bullets in that FTC press release... all the terms are spelled out in the interstitial. The issue is that the design goes out of its way to give it a very mandatory vibe. I don't log in very often, but I always have to catch myself ("...wait, what is this? Do I have to do this?"), and then remember to go hunting for the NoThanks button. It has a very opt-out feel.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    Let the regulator evaluate if they want to take action. Not filing a complaint guarantees no action will be taken. Filing the complaint takes <5 min. My two cents.
    - markdoubleyou 4y ago
      Fair enough, it's filed.
      - toomuchtodo 4y ago
        I appreciate it. Thank you.
    - atlasunshrugged 4y ago
      Do you work with the FTC? I also agree though, 1) can't hurt, 2) the FTC is actively going after folks who are using dark patterns https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/ftc-report-shows-rise-sophisticated-dark-patterns-designed-trick-trap-consumers https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/...
      - toomuchtodo 4y ago
        Only as an ordinary, average citizen contributor. No official relationship with any federal agency, thoughts and opinions (as always) are my own.
        atlasunshrugged 4y ago
        Awesome, you were just quite knowledgeable so I was curious. Flagging that if you ever are passionate about government service, FTC is recruiting for a new office of Technology (I also don't work there but have many friends in the public interest tech community). https://www.ftc.gov/technologists https://www.ftc.gov/technologists
    - prawn 4y ago
      I'd guess that if they get a lot of reports, they will generally pay closer attention to that entity. The consumer commission in Australia openly notes that there are lots of individual cases with which they can't assist, but still request reports regardless. Helps them keep a finger on the pulse.
    - 4y ago
  - lozenge 4y ago
    I wonder if the washed out text meets AAA guidelines? If not it could be argued it's effectively invisible for some users.
- user3939382 4y ago
  I feel like, if the government regulated the CRAs rather than the other way around, Equifax wouldn't exist or in any case have a license to collect credit data after what they did.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- scsh 4y ago
  In addition, if they are sending email through a provider like Sendgrid, etc. you should send an abuse complaint directly to their provider.
  - plagiarist 4y ago
    If you do a whois lookup you can report that to their registrar as well.
- sneak 4y ago
  Any system of regulation that depends on end users to police for violations and fill out government forms en masse to get results is a bad system. "We only enforce if notified, and only if we are notified a lot by many different people of the same violations" is extreme negligence, in my view.
dougSF70 4y ago
Yes, every time I do a double take. My brain is thinking should I press the button that looks disabled or should I press this shiny looking button here...
40four 4y ago
Yeah it’s really annoying. I guess I’ve just sensitized myself to ignore it and click through.
mortenjorck 4y ago
Beyond the inconvenience, it's ultimately just insulting. I can only imagine the number of decimal places at which conversions budged upward from such a transparently belligerent implementation of a modal, and yet some miserable product manager made the call to ship it. What an utter waste of everything that went into producing such a wretched, parasitic product. Have I mentioned I don't particularly like Experian?
- nerdponx 4y ago
  It's insulting because it reflects exactly how decision makers at Experian feel about you as a human being.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mikecoles 4y ago
I experienced the same nagware screen. It was suspicious that the "No, I don't want to upgrade" button would be replaced by the "Yes, please take my money" button at just the time a user would be clicking to decline.

toomuchtodo 4y ago

Please file an FTC complaint. It’ll get to the right people. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/10/ftc-ramp-enforcement-against-illegal-dark-patterns-trick-or-trap-consumers-subscriptions https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/10/... https://www.ftc.gov/reports/bringing-dark-patterns-light https://www.ftc.gov/reports/bringing-dark-patterns-light

markdoubleyou 4y ago
The problem is that they don't blatantly violate any of the policy bullets in that FTC press release... all the terms are spelled out in the interstitial. The issue is that the design goes out of its way to give it a very mandatory vibe. I don't log in very often, but I always have to catch myself ("...wait, what is this? Do I have to do this?"), and then remember to go hunting for the NoThanks button. It has a very opt-out feel.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  Let the regulator evaluate if they want to take action. Not filing a complaint guarantees no action will be taken. Filing the complaint takes <5 min. My two cents.
  - markdoubleyou 4y ago
    Fair enough, it's filed.
    - toomuchtodo 4y ago
      I appreciate it. Thank you.
  - atlasunshrugged 4y ago
    Do you work with the FTC? I also agree though, 1) can't hurt, 2) the FTC is actively going after folks who are using dark patterns https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/ftc-report-shows-rise-sophisticated-dark-patterns-designed-trick-trap-consumers https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/...
    - toomuchtodo 4y ago
      Only as an ordinary, average citizen contributor. No official relationship with any federal agency, thoughts and opinions (as always) are my own.
      - atlasunshrugged 4y ago
        Awesome, you were just quite knowledgeable so I was curious. Flagging that if you ever are passionate about government service, FTC is recruiting for a new office of Technology (I also don't work there but have many friends in the public interest tech community). https://www.ftc.gov/technologists https://www.ftc.gov/technologists
  - prawn 4y ago
    I'd guess that if they get a lot of reports, they will generally pay closer attention to that entity. The consumer commission in Australia openly notes that there are lots of individual cases with which they can't assist, but still request reports regardless. Helps them keep a finger on the pulse.
  - 4y ago
- lozenge 4y ago
  I wonder if the washed out text meets AAA guidelines? If not it could be argued it's effectively invisible for some users.
user3939382 4y ago
I feel like, if the government regulated the CRAs rather than the other way around, Equifax wouldn't exist or in any case have a license to collect credit data after what they did.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
scsh 4y ago
In addition, if they are sending email through a provider like Sendgrid, etc. you should send an abuse complaint directly to their provider.
- plagiarist 4y ago
  If you do a whois lookup you can report that to their registrar as well.
sneak 4y ago
Any system of regulation that depends on end users to police for violations and fill out government forms en masse to get results is a bad system. "We only enforce if notified, and only if we are notified a lot by many different people of the same violations" is extreme negligence, in my view.

dougSF70 4y ago

Yes, every time I do a double take. My brain is thinking should I press the button that looks disabled or should I press this shiny looking button here...

40four 4y ago

Yeah it’s really annoying. I guess I’ve just sensitized myself to ignore it and click through.

mortenjorck 4y ago

Beyond the inconvenience, it's ultimately just insulting. I can only imagine the number of decimal places at which conversions budged upward from such a transparently belligerent implementation of a modal, and yet some miserable product manager made the call to ship it. What an utter waste of everything that went into producing such a wretched, parasitic product. Have I mentioned I don't particularly like Experian?

nerdponx 4y ago
It's insulting because it reflects exactly how decision makers at Experian feel about you as a human being.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mikecoles 4y ago

I experienced the same nagware screen. It was suspicious that the "No, I don't want to upgrade" button would be replaced by the "Yes, please take my money" button at just the time a user would be clicking to decline.