TransUnion is one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States. As such, it wields a tremendous amount of power in the consumer credit world. A TransUnion credit report provides lenders and potential lenders with a potential borrower’s credit status. So much depends upon a consumer’s credit status. Consumers Credit status will determine if they get a loan, get a mortgage, rent a home, get a job, and if they do get those loans, their credit status will determine the terms of those loans, like the interest rate and the length of time they’ll have to pay the loan back.
Signing a report – artistic impression. Image credit: Scott Graham via Unsplash, free license
With so much riding on your credit status, you would think that TransUnion would make sure that all the information on its credit reports is accurate. Sadly it does not. As consumer attorneys, we hear TransUnion complaints with some frequency. The complaints are always the same and generally deal with someone experiencing some negative consequences or some damage to their financial well-being because of an incorrect TransUnion credit report.
Errors on an individual’s TransUnion credit report are far more common than they should be. And they can have a highly corrosive effect on a person’s credit status. Every consumer must understand the threats of TransUnion credit report errors and how to fix them. Even though it’s not your fault, it’s your responsibility to take care of your credit report status.
Your Credit Status
Your credit status is the measure by which anyone who might lend you money measures you. This includes mortgage companies, automobile loan companies, credit card companies, banks, landlords, property managers, and even employers or potential employers. TransUnion compiles, stores, and when asked, creates a report of your financial history and sells it to those lenders. Included in the report are:
- A listing of all your credit accounts and loans,
- The types of credit accounts and loans (credit card, auto loan, mortgage, student loan),
- The length of time each account has been open,
- The balances or the amounts owed on each account,
- The available credit you have already used,
- Your payment histories,
- Any negative actions taken against the consumer for unpaid bills, and
- Any credit inquiries, or indicators that you want to take more credit.
Potential lenders examine all of this information to determine what kind of borrower you are and then to predict what kind of borrower you might be if they give you more money.
Status vs. Score
TransUnion uses all of its data to calculate a credit score. While a credit score is not the same as your credit status, a credit score does reflect your credit status. Credit scores usually range from 300 to 850. 300 indicates a very poor credit status whereas 850 indicates a near-perfect credit status.
Both your credit status and your credit score are deemed to be predictors of risk. Lenders and potential lenders determine what sort of risk they are undertaking or might undertake if they lend you money by looking at your credit status and your credit score. If a lender, after examining your credit status, determines that lending you money is too risky, the lender will deny your loan application. If a lender, after examining your credit status, determines that lending you money is risky but the risk might be worth it if they get more out of the loan, the lender will approve your loan application but only with additional safeguards. Those additional safeguards typically include a higher interest rate and if applicable, a higher down payment.
Errors in your Report
There are many ways a TransUnion credit report can be flawed or inaccurate. A simple typo or administrative error can result in you being confused with someone else and therefore you being mistakenly identified as responsible for someone else’s debt. Additionally, mistakes in the transfer of information from Banks or credit card companies can result in you being mistakenly identified as someone who has made or regularly makes late payments. There could be accounts mistakenly labeled as open that you have closed which would diminish your credit status because of a perceived possibility that you have the potential for more debt.
No matter how small the error might seem, every error has the potential to severely diminish your credit status and when your credit status is severely diminished, you suffer some serious financial consequences. Either you don’t get the loan that you need for the new car or the tuition payment or for the mortgage or you get the loan but have to pay it back at higher rates than you should. all because of someone else’s mistake.
There are consumer lawyers who believe that large companies like TransUnion should be held accountable for the mistakes they make. Consumer protection attorneys are the people most capable of holding TransUnion accountable. There are laws to protect consumers and there are laws that help consumer protection attorneys hold companies like TransUnion accountable by providing avenues to collect compensation for the damage those errors do to consumers. Consumer protection attorneys know those laws and we know how to use them to get compensation for consumers who have been wronged by the carelessness of TransUnion.
We encourage you to request a credit report from TransUnion. you can request and receive a free credit report from TransUnion every week. To request a report either visit the TransUnion website or visit www.annualcreditreport.com. We encourage you to carefully review every section of that credit report when you receive it, to note any errors, and to contact us when you find them. If you have already suffered financial damage from an inaccuracy in a TransUnion credit report, then contact us right away.
Contact a consumer protection attorney if you have any questions about your credit report status, your credit report, TransUnion, or credit reporting in general. A consumer protection attorney can help you fix issues with your credit report and restore your credit status to where it should be.