In a Nutshell
pros
- Dedicated fraud victim assistance department
- Real-time credit activity and change alerts
- Daily access to your credit report
cons
- Only get TransUnion credit reports
- Have to pay for 3-credit bureau reports
- No live chat support available
A brilliant solution for:
- Anyone who wants to lock or unlock their credit report instantly
- People who want to get automatic alerts of credit activity
- Consumers who want their credit reports monitored 24/7
How Does It Work?
TransUnion is a stand-alone service that works automatically. You don’t have to download software or install anything, TransUnion works on its own. You should download the mobile app, so you can control your own TransUnion credit report if you ever want to, but it’s not a requirement.
When you sign up for TransUnion, you'll automatically get your TransUnion credit report. If you want the other two credit bureaus, you'll have to purchase them separately. TransUnion will also start to monitor your report as soon as you sign up, and this is across all three bureaus. If anything changes on your account, TransUnion will immediately alert you of the activity, so you can check it out right away. This is the best form of identity theft protection because it means your report is constantly being monitored, and you can take action right away if something untoward happens.
It is worth noting that TransUnion uses the VantageScore credit scoring scale. Other credit bureaus use the FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation). It's not that one scoring system is any better than the other. It's important that consumers know that there is a difference. That way, when you see a discrepancy in your credit reports between the different bureaus, you'll understand why. The two scoring systems differ in how they score you, scoring requirements, and how much weight is given to various factors, including late payments, credit inquiries, and low balance collections.
TransUnion also lets you lock your report with the swipe of a finger if you’re nervous that something fishy is going on. You can lock both your TransUnion and your Equifax credit reports using this convenient feature.
TransUnion offers both private and business solutions for monitoring your credit and identity.
What Does This Service Watch out For?
- Credit monitoring for TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax
- Lock TransUnion credit report instantly
- Credit education
- Free credit reports
- Help with credit disputes
- Credit alerts, notifications whenever your information is used
- Alerts when there are any changes on your credit report
- Daily updated reports available when you want them
- Payday loan monitoring
- Financial account takeover monitoring
- Public records monitoring and alerts
- Personal information monitoring
- Bank account monitoring
- Credit cards monitoring
- Social networking sites
Recovery Services - What Can TransUnion Do If My Identity Is Stolen?
TransUnion is serious about protecting its consumers, and that's apparent with the recovery services available. This company doesn't just leave you alone in your greatest moment of need. Instead, TransUnion is there to help consumers who have become victims of identity theft and fraud.
If you discover that you're a victim of identity theft, TransUnion offers several resources to assist you, including:
- One-swipe account and credit report freeze
- Educational resources to walk you through the process of identity recovery
- Fraud Alerts to flag your account if the thieves try to open new lines of credit or take out money from your accounts
- Help reporting fraud to the authorities
- Dedicated Fraud Victim Assistance Department
- Up to $1,000,000 theft insurance
- Stolen or lost wallet protection
Between the lost or stolen wallet protection and $1M theft insurance, TransUnion has definitely got you covered. What’s more, TransUnion does a good job of helping people out when the unfortunate event occurs via the dedicated department that handles all these issues and helps you through the process of identity recovery. What’s more important, though, is that TransUnion does a great job of preventing this from happening in the first place.
How Easy Is It to Use?
TransUnion is extremely easy to use; in fact, that's one of the benefits. Once you sign up for an account, TransUnion automatically kicks into gear. You'll automatically receive your credit report, and TransUnion will instantly start monitoring your credit reports from all three bureaus. You'll get immediate alerts to your email if ever any suspicious activity is noticed.
Once you sign up, you also get instant access to the features mentioned above. TransUnion does a good job of making everything self-explanatory and easy to use. Like the account freeze feature, for example. All you have to do is log onto your account, tap on the freeze account section of the dashboard, and slide your finger to freeze your account. Swipe again to unlock the account.
Pricing
TransUnion pricing is about average for the industry. It’s not the greatest deal, but also not the most expensive. What you do get for this price is a solid credit monitoring service that’s not available with all competitors. Here’s what you pay:
TransUnion offers a monthly subscription plan for members to sign up with. The membership includes:
- Unlimited access to your credit scores and reports
- Daily updates to your scores and reports
- CreditCompass
- Credit Lock Plus
- Up to $1,00,000 in identity theft insurance
- Unlimited access to toll-free fraud specialists
The CreditCompass feature analyzes your credit report and shows you the areas that need working on. The idea is to help you better understand your credit report by cleaning up the messy bits. This is a helpful tool. It’s like having a personal finance coach help you improve your financial standings.
The Credit Lock Plus feature lets you instantly lock your TransUnion, and Equifax reports directly from your private dashboard. This means no one will be able to access or see it unless you give them permission.
Help & Support
TransUnion customer support is available Monday through Thursday from 8 AM to 12 AM ET and on weekends from 8 AM to 8 PM. But what’s even more impressive is the amount of information you can get off of the website. TransUnion’s site is chock full of useful and informative articles, links, and resources to help educate people about their credit reports, and what to do in case of identity fraud.
In case of an emergency, TransUnion has unlimited access to the Fraud Victim Assistance Department via a toll-free hotline. This is manned by fraud specialists who will help you recover your identity, alert authorities, and get in touch with important account providers like credit cards and banks.
Bottom Line
TransUnion offers 3-bureau credit monitoring, immediate credit activity alerts, and instant account freeze for a low monthly fee. You'll also get access to your TransUnion credit report whenever you want, and the service will help you understand your credit report for better credit scoring in the future. In case of fraud, TransUnion has a Fraud Victim Assistance Department dedicated to helping out and $1,000,000 fraud insurance to help victims pay for some of the losses or costs incurred. TransUnion is a trusted name and one of the three credit bureaus in the country.
