Have you purchased an auto recently? Applied for a credit card? How about a new job? Started a new business? Been lucky enough to re-finance a mortgage or line-of-credit? If you have done any of these, then your credit file information was released by Equifax, Experian or Trans Union, the three largest credit reporting agencies in the country. These three credit reporting agencies hold vast amounts of personal financial information about each of us, and despite FTC and other government regulation, these three companies control your financial future.
Most Americans don't think very much about the potentially damaging financial information in their credit files until something bad happens. As many Americans have experienced, I was a victim of identity theft several years ago. Someone got hold of enough personal information through CitiBank to change my address and charge about $3,000 on my card before I discovered the theft.
Believe me, it's an experience no one welcomes. You spend countless hours on the phone and filling out paperwork to prove you are you. After the case was cleaned up, I put an eleven year freeze in my credit files to prevent anyone from obtaining credit without the creditor first calling me--a minor inconvenience for the pain and frustration of someone stealing your identity.
I had another recent experience with the credit agencies. Because of two minor errors in my Equifax file--Toyota Leasing failing to indicate they offered me a new auto lease and PayPal/GE Money Bank reporting a $5 unpaid credit card balance, Chase Bank refused to issue a business credit card to me. It only took a five minute phone call to Chase to explain the matter. Meanwhile, the information is still in my credit reports despite emailing, calling and writing all three companies.
Consumer complaints about their inability to contact the credit agencies is growing. Searching Google reveals the following:
Trans Union Complaints = 387,000
Experian Complaints = 412,000
Equifax Complaints = 295,000
Total 1,094,000
Communicating with the credit agencies is the top complaint. See Experian. The recently settled class action lawsuit against TransUnion is also well-reported.
The incestuous marketing of credit files to creditors, combined with the credit agencies' hard-selling of their (our) financial information to consumers is profit-making at its worst. When I was on the phone with an Experian rep, after receiving my credit file, the rep insisted I purchase one of their credit filing services. The report services, starting at $14.95 per month, claim to monitor unusual activity in subscribers' credit reports among the three bureaus, and email subscribers if "suspicious" activity occurs. Like life insurance agents, Experian markets the "peace of mind" you feel knowing that your credit file is watched.
Another service, described by the Experian rep, prevents access to your credit file without your permission. Da? You want me to pay your company to freeze and un-freeze my credit information, like a water spigot, and charge me for it? That's MY credit information you're marketing--not only to creditors but to consumers. Is this, indeed, double-dipping?
The tyranny of it all is we KNOW our financial affairs are monitored. We ARE being watched. So Experian, Equifax and TransUnion feed off the fears of all Americans, because our financial lives are dependent on a monopoly of three companies who hold the cards. They make millions selling the same information to creditors as to consumers.
A quote from Don Robert, Chief Executive Officer of Experian about the company's substantial profit increase reported last March:
“This has been a challenging year in many ways. The major disruption that took place in the financial services sector was unprecedented, but we delivered good profit and cash performances. Experian is a strong business, performing well in difficult markets. While it is still too early to call a turn in the US and the UK financial services markets, and US Credit Services continues to soften, we have taken the necessary steps to reduce costs and protect margins and we expect to continue to deliver strong performances in Experian’s other regions and key business lines. Although we face strong comparables in the first quarter of this year, when organic revenue may be flat to slightly down, we remain confident on the outlook.”
And so it goes...I spoke with a Federal Trade Commission rep, who claimed that Experian is the hardest credit reporting company to reach. If you experience difficulties with any of the three companies, file a complaint with the FTC. You may also contact the FTC by phone.
Comments