The credit report you get from freecreditreport.com is no longer free, no matter what that Web address promises.

In the face of a legislative and regulatory crackdown, Experian, the credit data company that owns the site, has begun charging $1 for the report and then giving that money to charity.

Why would it bother with such a token transaction, only to hand over the money to somebody else?

If you have been even half awake in front of a television in the last few years, you have probably heard the trio of young musicians that appears in the site’s advertisements singing promises of credit salvation for anyone who gets a free report from the site.

At the end of the commercials, there is also a speed-reading disclosure noting that anyone who wants the free report must enroll in something called “Triple Advantage.”