TransUnion

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TransUnion (Trans Union, LLC) is the third largest consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian; TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.

Contents 1 History 2 Credit Score 3 Controversy 4 Contact information 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] History

TransUnion was created in 1968 by Union Tank Car Company as their holding company. Its credit business began with the purchase of Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC) in 1969. Trans Union was built from acquisitions of major city credit bureaus, with service agreements with local owners of bureaus which were not for sale. Today it operates 250 offices in the U.S. and in 24 other countries. It is based in Chicago, Illinois.

TransUnion was a subsidiary of The Marmon Group until January 2005 and is now an independent, privately held company.

[edit] Credit Score

Associated with a person’s credit history, though not part of the credit report, is a number called a Credit score.

The most widely used provider of credit scores is Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). FICO scores come into the credit picture when potential lenders obtain credit information from a credit reporting agency (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, etc) in the form of a credit report and process the report data through FICO's proprietary software algorithm to produce a credit score ranging from 350-850.

The potential lender then uses the score along with other data to decide if extending credit to the loan applicant is an acceptable risk.

The formula used to calculate a FICO score is a closely guarded secret and has been reported to vary dynamically depending on such factors as the rate of bankruptcy filings, foreclosures and current financial climate.

[edit] Controversy

In 2003, Judy Thomas of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was awarded $5.3 million in a dispute with TransUnion. The award was later reduced to $1 million. Thomas claimed it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove erroneous information from her credit report.^[1]

In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information due to identity theft, a fraud victim named Sloan filed suit against all three of the largest credit agencies. TransUnion and Experian settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In Sloan v. Equifax, a jury awarded Sloan $351,000. "She wrote letters. She called them. They saw the problem. They just didn't fix it," said attorney A. Hugo Blankingship III of Blankingship & Associates in Alexandria, Virginia.^[2]

[edit] Contact information

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The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires credit bureaus to investigate incorrect information. Consumers can dispute items in their TransUnion credit report online at: TransUnion Web Site, via mail by writing to:

TRANSUNION CONSUMER RELATIONS
PO BOX 2000
CHESTER, PA  19022-2000

and via telephone by calling:

1-800-916-8800
1-866-744-8221

between the hours of 8:00 am and 11:00 pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; except major holidays.

A free credit report can be ordered via telephone once per twelve month period for mail delivery by calling:

1-800-888-4213.

[edit] See also

• Compuscan
• Credit score
• Equifax
• Equifax Canada Inc
• Experian
• Identity theft
• Innovis
• Smith v. Van Gorkom
• TransUnion Canada

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Block, Sandra. "Fixing errors in credit report is no small task", USA Today, 2005-08-27.
2. ^ Baldas, Tresa. "Consumer Lawsuits Against Credit Bureaus Are Multiplying", The National Law Journal, 2006-08-16.

[edit] External links

• TransUnion Web Site
• TrueCredit Web Site TransUnion's consumer facing property