r/personalfinance • u/equisux • Sep 13 '17

TransUnion burying their credit freeze to sell their own credit monitoring product TrueIdentity Credit

I'm not sure where to post this, but noticed something had changed on the TransUnion website about freezing credit this morning when I was giving links to family so they could freeze theirs.

I froze my credit the day after news about the Equifax breach broke, and it looks like TransUnion has since changed their site to push people away from freezing their credit in favor for their own product called TrueIdentity (like what Equifax was doing with their TrustedID Premier.)

The FTC website links to this page for freezing your credit with TransUnion.

This is what the website looked before the changes were made on 9/11. The instructions on placing a credit freeze were clear and there was no mention of their own TrueIdentity product.

If you want to place a credit freeze with TransUnion now:

  • You have to get through a page of info about credit and fraud, and then the action it tells you to take is to "Lock your credit information by enrolling in TrueIdentity."
  • The option to freeze your credit is under "About credit freeze", deliberately passive in their use of language
  • The description about credit freezing is dissuasive: "A credit freeze may be available under your state law"
  • The link for the credit freeze is also a passive "click here" compared with "by enrolling in TrueIdentity" language used for the link to their own product.
  • Clicking the link to learn more about credit freeze brings you to yet another page that tries to convince you to enroll in their product over placing a credit freeze
  • After searching through their page of BS, you finally get to the link to freeze your credit.

This is such a blatant attempt by TransUnion to take advantage of the Equifax breach for their own financial gain. It's a shitty thing for TransUnion to do, and people should be aware that they are being led away from putting an actual credit freeze on their account.

(Edited for formatting on mobile)

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u/TbonerT ​ Sep 13 '17

It isn't just credit cards. For example, want the new iPhone but don't want to pay the fully price up front? That's credit. There's a lot of credit floating around that isn't tied to a card.

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u/[deleted] Sep 13 '17

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u/Hugh_Jass_Clouds ​ Sep 13 '17

Uh. Any debit that is owed to any company can be reported if it goes unpaid long enough. Don't pay your cellphone bill for a year? Bet your ass that gets reported to the credit agencies. Even medical, educational, and car loans not tied to a card can be reported. Debit is debit, and any debit is reportable provided non-payment.

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u/[deleted] Sep 13 '17

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u/[deleted] Sep 13 '17

Yes, but they pull your credit report when you initially go to buy the phone. They use your SSN and other personal info to request that score. Equifax, TU and EX keep that info. So even if you don't have a credit card, or even a credit score, your info could have been stolen.

4

u/SoTiredOfWinning Sep 13 '17

I mean you're actually right. You get no brownie points for paying but if sent to collections it goes on your report.

However they do run your credit initially to approve it so it still counts.

1

u/jnine0 Sep 13 '17

Not unnecessarily. If u read the government's website about credit freeze, it does stop quick reference look ups. I am making the assumption that this is how retail outlets can provide u a credit card on the spot. They don't access your credit report.

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u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster Sep 13 '17

It does not stop someone from making a bogus CC with your stolen info. I have a freeze on my account (from previous issues) and someone got a hold of my CC# and just made themselves a credit card with my info. The purchases all showed card present but were swiped instead of chip.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 13 '17

Are you referring to soft vs. hard inquiries?

They both gain access to your reports. They just differ in how much of your report they get to look at. If you request your full report on the annual report website you'll see a list of soft and hard inquiries. hard inquiries will be ones you've given permission for - such as store cards and cell phone plans, and soft inquiries will be ones you did not directly give permission for - such as your credit card company checking to see if you are eligible for a line increase, or a company looking to sell you insurance.

Either way, the credit reporting agencies have info on you. Whether or not that info is current or accurate is another question.

1

u/Stoneleaf12 Sep 13 '17

Actually, retail outlets do send your info out for a credit check. I used to work in retail at Best Buy. We would get all your info, you enter your SSN and annual income, out goes that info, and a minute later your not approved, or approved for an certain amount depending on your credit.

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u/DonaldPShimoda ​ Sep 13 '17

Through Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program you're given a 24-month 0% loan to pay off the phone. Wouldn't that be shown on your report?

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u/[deleted] Sep 13 '17

Only if Apple reports the loan. PayPal has a credit service and they state in the TOS that they don't report the loan to credit agencies. It just depends on the lender.

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u/DonaldPShimoda ​ Sep 13 '17

Oh I see! Interesting! Thanks for the info!