Temped Title: The Credit Report Scam
Premise: Credit Unions compile personal information on every person in the country who establishes credits and then wants to charge us to see our own info. Who said it was their info to use in a profit manner for themselves?
Since the Equifax data breach back in Sept 2017, I have done some things.
First I put security freezes on all my and my wife's credit report accounts handled by the big 3 Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. Equifax was free. Both Transunion and Experian charged $10 per account to put a security freeze on the accounts. The amount they can charge is state dictated, and pro-business Texas says sure, why not?
Because Equifax (https://www.equifax.com/personal/) screwed up/got caught/finally admitted it, they are offering a free year of credit monitoring. I'm not actually sure if this if for everyone or just those effected. I say that because I was effected and have already signed up. For my wife, it said she was not effected, but it still offered what appears to be a free membership to their Trusted ID Premier for 1 year. You have till the end of Jan 2018 to sign up.
Equifax Trusted ID Premier- This is their substandard product (my current impression) they set up to deal with the millions of people who were effected by the data breach, offering it as a means to have your credit protected, and in it, you can't even print out your credit report as a single pdf.
Currently it's (the credit report) displayed in sections that if printed are printed out as individual documents.
This really irritates me, and even more, today I called and ended up talking to someone in India. Which irritates the hell out of me when U.S. based companies have their call centers over seas. Nothing against citizens from other countries, it's just that it's another example rubbed in my face where my country's citizens are disenfranchised out of a jobs by U.S. corporations. I'll be trying to talk to them tomorrow when I can reach someone in the U.S.
Transunion (https://www.transunion.com) I discovered offers a free program called Trusted ID that allows you to establish an account, then then lock and unlock your credit at will. This is what they should all have! So you don't have to pay the $10 for a Security Freeze on your credit report from them. Look for the My Free Identify Protection link on their main page.
Last and Least: Experian (https://usa.experian.com/; https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/free-credit-report.html) who wants $25 a month to allow you to do what Transunion offers for free. When you establish an account and log into their site, you are presented with a billing page asking for your credit card info.
Free Credit Reports? Look here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
Note: When I did this, the site was not able to provide me with a credit report online, but wanted me to mail them a form along with a copy of my SS number and driver's license. So much for convenience.
Premise: Credit Unions compile personal information on every person in the country who establishes credits and then wants to charge us to see our own info. Who said it was their info to use in a profit manner for themselves?
Since the Equifax data breach back in Sept 2017, I have done some things.
First I put security freezes on all my and my wife's credit report accounts handled by the big 3 Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. Equifax was free. Both Transunion and Experian charged $10 per account to put a security freeze on the accounts. The amount they can charge is state dictated, and pro-business Texas says sure, why not?
Because Equifax (https://www.equifax.com/personal/) screwed up/got caught/finally admitted it, they are offering a free year of credit monitoring. I'm not actually sure if this if for everyone or just those effected. I say that because I was effected and have already signed up. For my wife, it said she was not effected, but it still offered what appears to be a free membership to their Trusted ID Premier for 1 year. You have till the end of Jan 2018 to sign up.
Equifax Trusted ID Premier- This is their substandard product (my current impression) they set up to deal with the millions of people who were effected by the data breach, offering it as a means to have your credit protected, and in it, you can't even print out your credit report as a single pdf.
Currently it's (the credit report) displayed in sections that if printed are printed out as individual documents.
This really irritates me, and even more, today I called and ended up talking to someone in India. Which irritates the hell out of me when U.S. based companies have their call centers over seas. Nothing against citizens from other countries, it's just that it's another example rubbed in my face where my country's citizens are disenfranchised out of a jobs by U.S. corporations.
I'll be trying to talk to them tomorrow when I can reach someone in the U.S.Transunion (https://www.transunion.com) I discovered offers a free program called Trusted ID that allows you to establish an account, then then lock and unlock your credit at will. This is what they should all have! So you don't have to pay the $10 for a Security Freeze on your credit report from them. Look for the My Free Identify Protection link on their main page.
Last and Least: Experian (https://usa.experian.com/; https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/free-credit-report.html) who wants $25 a month to allow you to do what Transunion offers for free. When you establish an account and log into their site, you are presented with a billing page asking for your credit card info.
Free Credit Reports? Look here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
Note: When I did this, the site was not able to provide me with a credit report online, but wanted me to mail them a form along with a copy of my SS number and driver's license. So much for convenience.
