What is Transunion

What is Transunion? Transunion is a credit reporting agency. This means that they collect information about you from many sources, compile it into reports and charge a fee for you or others to access this information. How does this affect me, you ask. Well, the information they have may not be 100% accurate. You also do not always know who is looking at your credit file. We will discuss what is Transunion and how they work.




You have business dealings with many companies and individuals. Some of these companies report to Transunion or one of the other credit reporting agencies and some do not. Every time you apply for a loan, credit card, rental unit or other housing, employment, or insurance, chances are a credit report will be requested from Transunion or another company just like it. What is Transunion allowed to collect and disclose about me? Good question! They report everything from your name, address, phone number, social security number, past address, other names used, spouse's names, employers past and present, account information including partial account numbers, original balance, current balance, payment history, collection activity, and court records. All of this information is disclosed to others, as well as who has inquired into your credit within the last 3 years. When you look to do business with a company it is very likely that they will run a report to see if you are a bad risk or not. In theory it is supposed to protect businesses from those who do not fulfill their financial obligations.




What is Transunion doing to make sure my information is safe and accurate? Unfortunately not enough. Many inaccuracies occur in credit reports. Aside from identity theft, many of these credit reporting agencies confuse people with the same or similar names, and sometimes merge their data. The credit reporting agencies are the biggest perpetrators of inaccurate credit information. They make it extremely difficult to get incorrect items removed. This is partly due to the fact that the companies that report to them have to pay a fee every time they access your records. It costs them money to update your report, so many will not do it. Also, with so much personal information going through their computer systems, it is nearly impossible to protect it all. They will offer you their credit fraud protection service. It is something you must pay for. However, this does not mean that they will update your file with accurate information. The best way to prevent fraud is to get a free copy of your report every year and to be sure you keep you personal information safe. If you need to dispute an item on your Transition report, use the contact information located on the report and use the report number. It is the only way that you can get access to that information again.




We have examined what kinds of information Transunion collects and distributes. Safety and security issues were also touched on. Hopefully we have answered is the Transunion quandary for you.