May 30, 2008 7:19 pm US/Pacific
Lawsuit Makes Free Credit Monitoring Available
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS) ―
If you have used a credit card or carried any kind of debt or loan account in the past 21 years it's very likely you can take part in an unprecidented $10-billion dollar lawsuit settlement.
Credit reporting agency TransUnion must pay back Aldin Cubillas and 160 million American consumers for selling their private credit information.
Anyone with credit information held by Transunion can retrieve their credit score which normally costs about $12. And on top of that they can enjoy 6 months of credit monitoring -- a $60 dollar value -- for free.
It's punishment for selling consumer credit information to marketers who then turned around and used that data to sell products and services right back to you.
Ken McEldowney with Consumer Action said, "TransUnion was getting deep into credit reports to get information to tailor lists that were valuable for other companies. This is by far the largest class action ever and the largest ever involving privacy violations. It sends a strong message to organizations that hold your private information."
Leah McGee now makes the connection between this case and the targeted junk mail and spam she receives on a daily basis.
"I figure it came from them. People are watching what you are doing with your money if they have access to that information," McGee said.
A Transunion spokesperson told CBS 5 that the company stopped the practice of selling consumer information in 2001.
Colleen Ryan also says, "There is no proof Transunion violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But, given concerns about consumer privacy settling this case made sense and gives people a real consumer benefit. They can feel secure with the credit monitoring service."
Your credit score can determine interest rates on credit cards or whether lenders will give a you loan. So Leah is curious and may retrieve hers for free from Transunion. But her friend Mark Bible is going to pass on the offer.
"I'd want to stay clear because they've been tainted," said Bible.
Anyone who does take advantage of the credit score offer and 6-month monitoring service will not be obligated to buy services after that time.
The settlement is expected to get final approval in September. But, starting June 16, you can go to
www.listclassaction.com to participate in the settlement by filing a claim.
Consumerwatch warns people NOT to respond to emails claiming to be from TransUnion. It could be a trick by spammers posing as the credit agency and going after your private information. TransUnion said it will only communicate through that website.
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