For all the concerns people have about internet search, privacy and “all that info Google knows about us,” I remain amazed at how much power credit reporting agencies have to really dick with our lives and publish incorrect information about us, with us seeming to have little ability to resolve things. And how all we seem to be are profit centers to them.
Case in point. I was declined when I tried to open a new bank account recently, because the bank couldn’t verify my identity. TransUnion, they said, didn’t have a telephone number listed for me. I’d need to contact “my” credit agency and update this.
I was kind of annoyed. It’s not “my” agency, I explained to the bank rep — it’s just some company that chooses to report my credit history without my consent or cooperation. Nevertheless, if I wanted things resolved, I had to spend time to follow up on the issue.
It’s been ages since I’ve had to deal with a credit agency, having lived outside the US for so long. I hit the TransUnion site, found a phone number and quickly got to a rep to ask what was up.
Oddly, he said TransUnion DID have a number listed for me. OK, what was it. He couldn’t tell me — that was confidential. Confidential? I mean, to get to this point, I had to give him my mailing address, my mother’s maiden name, my name, my date of birth and my social security number. Didn’t he have enough to know who I was?
Sorry, to see the actual number listed, I’d need to request a copy of my credit report, and that would be $8. Um, wait — since I’d just been to the TransUnion site, I remembered seeing something saying I get a free copy of my credit report once per year. What’s up — how come I can’t do that.
Oh, I could, it turned out. He said I’d have to call a different number. But now I was really annoyed — why didn’t he tell me from the beginning that I could have a free report. We went round and round on this, with him eventually saying — I kid you not — that he wasn’t allowed to tell me that. Hey TransUnion, if you’re reading this, the call was recorded — so go check it out, if you don’t believe me.
Not happy, I asked who I talked to if I had a complaint about how things were handled. There was no one to file complaints with, I was told. Seriously. So I asked for a supervisor, and at least there was someone like that I could talk with. The supervisor did tell me my phone number, which was correct, and was mystified that the bank couldn’t retrieve it. He also started to pitch me on a monitoring service from them. I declined.
Back to the bank. They reran the report — actually not able to get the full report because of a security block I guess I setup ages ago on it. But they were able to pull some basic info and despite what the supervisor said, they still weren’t getting my number. Advice? Call the credit agency again.
So I did. And again, I was told a number was in place. They also confirmed that a security block was on my file, but no, they couldn’t tell me what that said. That was confidential — despite having done the entire “verify who I am” thing again. And despite being confidential, there was no problem with me having it removed. Insane — I can remove a block, but I can’t be told what it was?
Back to the bank. No quick recheck this time, so I wait to see if it will go through. Meanwhile, I went back to TransUnion wondering just how easy, if at all, it was to change things online.
It turns out that by using the Dispute Item option on the home page (way below under the much more prominent pitch for a “free trial” to monitor my credit report), I actually got to see my report online.
What a mess. Look, there’s my UK address mixed with my US address as one of my previous residences. No idea how that happened. And my phone number? No area code listed, despite being given then when I was on the phone with them.
Want to update my number? No way to do that. I can delete it by putting in a dispute resolution, but I can’t just say “hey, this is wrong.” Same with previous addresses.
This is a joke. Why can’t I simply go in and easily ensure basic information about myself, where I live, where I’ve lived, how to reach me, is updated.
Much more important, by law I should have the ability to see my credit report whenever I want, not once per week, not as part of a paid credit reporting service. It’s my information that impacts my life. Let the agencies make money off the businesses that use their information, not the consumers who actually own it.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I LOVE how all the ads on this blog are for credit reports.
You know it had been years since I’d looked at my credit report, so after reading this I tootled over to the transunion site, and lo and behold I’ve apparantly sprouted a middle initial. How can I get rid of it? Apparently all I have to do is find out which creditor in the past 10 years gave it to them and get them to correct it… yeah… that’ll work.
There are three credit agencies in the US who get paid billions of dollars every year to provide information to creditors, etc. for a fee. The story by Danny Sullivan — while it reads like a Lucy Ricardo comedy bit — is extremely true and is just the tip of the iceberg. Two of the three agencies have totally erroneous data in their files on me, and it hasn’t affected my credit one iota. I guess I’ve been lucky that the one agency that has been used “on me” is the one with the most correct info. Every agency’s site says that we “need” to ensure that all info on their site is 100% correct to “prevent being adversely impacted”; yet, aside from helping the agencies earn more money, why SHOULD we bother to help them?
IF you want to strike a blow for democracy, write your congressman and both of your senators and demand that the credit agencies be put on a much shorter leash by federal regulators, and more to the point, make it easier for John Q. Public to get corrected information updated, but more importantly get the credit agencies to pay the person whose credit they are messing with for ALL errors.
My next rant will be against banks with branches across the nation (and the globe) and how mistakes by the individual are — by law — always resolved to benefit the bank, but mistakes by the banks (and the larger the bank, the more egregious the mistakes) are always resolved to benefit the bank at the expense of the citizen.
Am I anti establishment and afraid of Big Brother. No, I work for the government and I’m here to help. At the same time, the bigger the bank, the deeper they have their hands in politicians’ pockets and the more control they will continue to exert over your personal destiny.
We can discuss how Exxon Corporation sold fuel to the NVA and locations of where deliveries were made to American forces in Vietnam at the expense of American lives (if the enemy knows where and how much fuel is delivered to a military force, they can easily determine where the forces will be and other essential tactical information) when you’ve gotten used to the idea that what is good for General Motors is NOT good for America.