On television it's hard to miss the band of slackers singing ruefully from a shabby apartment or while waiting tables in pirate regalia. The ruined credit that led to their financial misfortune might have been sparkling, if only they'd tracked their status on freecreditreport.com.

The Federal Trade Commission has long believed that Experian, which owns freecredit report.com, is deliberately diverting people from a government-mandated site where consumers can get free credit reports by law, and using the reports as a lure for a $14.95 monthly service that alerts subscribers to important changes in their credit status.

But while the government has taken issue with the ads, it has had little to say about credit monitoring services themselves, a rapidly expanding niche approaching $1 billion. The problem, say critics, is that most people really don't need it.

Keeping a close eye on your bills and checking your credit report several times a year is enough, they say.

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