Fraud Alerts on Trans Union Credit Reports Cause Hardship for Many Consumers and Especially Military Personnel Overseas

(LITIGATION NEWS) December 19, 2005 – The three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) Experian, Equifax and Trans Union all implemented procedures to secure consumer credit data.  However, credit consultant Christine Baker receives by far the most complaints about Trans Union refusals to provide credit reports and to investigate disputes from clients as well as readers of her blog at http://creditsuit.org/ and forum at http://fight-back.us/forum/

Trans Union does not provide means to resolve identification problems quickly and easily.  In its notices, Trans Union does not state the reason for the decline or any way to contact it by telephone, fax or e-mail.  Instead, Trans Union requires documentation to be mailed.

Recently, several of Ms. Baker’s clients experienced tremendous problems obtaining their Trans Union credit reports due to fraud alerts.  Upon request of a client overseas in the military, Trans Union provided a fax number.  However, it was always busy.

Since 2001, Trans Union also continually refused to provide telephone assistance to Ms. Baker.  Every time she called Trans Union, the representatives refused to discuss the credit issues and transferred her to the “priority” department.

Unfortunately, the Trans Union “priority” department rarely answered the phone and instead, voice mail announcements demanded that a phone number be left for a return call. 

Trans Union requires consumers to sit by their phones from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM to wait for the moment when it is convenient for Trans Union to discuss its incorrect credit reporting.

The FCRA does NOT contain any requirement for consumers to have a phone and to wait for Trans Union’s calls.  Instead, it requires CRAs to provide toll-free numbers and trained personnel to assist consumers.

On 11/28/05, Ms. Baker discovered that her Trans Union report contained a FRAUD ALERT.  Typically, a fraud alert is requested by ID theft victims and it alerts creditors to potential fraudulent activity, often resulting in declines.

Ms. Baker never requested a fraud alert and she immediately called Trans Union at the number on her report.  At 3:32 PM local AZ time, Trans Union was closed.  She called another number, demanding not to be transferred to a voicemail, but her request was ignored. When she called back, the initial recording announced that Trans Union was busy and disconnected.  Then the Trans Union rep hung up on her when she insisted that she not be transferred to a VM again.  Details are posted at http://fight-back.us/forum/index.php?showtopic=1030

Eventually, after Ms. Baker explained once again that she doesn’t have time to sit by the phone all day, Trans Union’s Debbie promised a call on 11/29/05 at 4 PM. Trans Union finally called on 12/7/05 when Ms. Baker was busy.  She requested a call back at 4 PM and to date is still waiting for this call.

The FREE annual credit reports at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ are frequently declined by Trans Union. But when consumers PAY Trans Union for the reports, they are often readily available. Ms. Baker did not receive a response to her 11/30/05 Open Letter to Trans Union’s media contact Clifton O’Neal:

“… Rather than supporting the troops, TU ensures that those willing to die in Iraq or Afghanistan have the worst credit, pay the highest interest rates and have the fewest opportunities to get corrections. …”

In 2001, Ms. Baker had sued Trans Union in Kingman, AZ, Justice Court, case # 2001 CV 1751 UN, after she was declined for a bank account due to entirely false information on her credit report and Trans Union responded with a form letter:

“To assist in our investigation, please forward a copy of your driver’s license and social security card to our office at the address located above.”

Trans Union had no right to refuse the credit disputes, Ms. Baker had not requested that any information be released to her and the disputes were submitted with credit report.  Had Trans Union provided a telephone or fax number, it could have saved the legal fees.  The filings, correspondence and confidential Trans Union settlement are posted at http://creditcourt.com/tu/filelist.shtml

Despite Ms. Baker’s numerous notices to Trans Union, it refused to provide her credit reports online. Like many millions of people in rural areas, Ms. Baker does not enjoy the luxury of mail delivery to her residence and mail is delivered to a roadside mailbox several miles away.  Mailboxes are a primary source of personal data for ID thieves.

All three CRAs have retaliated against consumers who filed suit against them by withholding credit reports, as litigated in Spector v. Equifax Info Servs, 338 F. Supp. 2d 378 (D. Conn. 2004) The court denied the Equifax motion for summary judgment as a jury might find that Equifax is liable for punitive damages.  http://fight-back.us/forum/index.php?showtopic=1025

When consumers can’t get their credit reports, they won’t know what to dispute.  When disputes are refused, incorrect and incomplete data won’t be investigated.  In her research, Ms. Baker learned that credit reports with derogatory data are more valuable to creditors because they can charge higher interest rates and fees. 

Having reviewed thousands of reports, Ms. Baker is certain that CRAs do not employ any computerized procedures to ensure accuracy and completeness.  She sees balances higher than the highest amount owed, missing credit limits, accounts opened AFTER they were closed, undated late payments and other obviously incorrect data on just about every report.

More information about credit reporting can be found at http://fight-back.us/forum/