TransUnion

TransUnion (Trans Union, LLC) is a consumer credit reporting agency, considered one of the three largest in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like its main competitors, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion now markets credit reports directly to consumers.

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.

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. Ms. Thomas claimed it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove erroneous information from her credit report. [Block, Sandra. [http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2005-09-27-credit-report-usat_x.htm "Fixing errors in credit report is no small task"] , "USA Today", August 27, 2005.]

In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information due to identity theft, one 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, Va. [Baldas, Tresa. [http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1155648410038 "Consumer Lawsuits Against Credit Bureaus Are Multiplying"] , "The National Law Journal", August 16, 2006.]

Dispute process

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: [http://transunion.com/disputeonline 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 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.

ee also

* Equifax
* Experian
* Innovis
* Identity theft
* Credit score
* Credit report
* Fair Credit Reporting Act
* Equifax Canada Inc
* TransUnion Canada
* "Smith v. Van Gorkom"

External links

* [http://www.transunion.com TransUnion Web Site]
* [http://www.truecredit.com TrueCredit Web Site] TransUnion's consumer facing property

Notes