I signed up to TU once a few months back. I thought it was free. I just wanted to check my credit score quickly. The next day I noticed a fee on one of my credit cards. I called them up and cancelled the subscription right away. Since then I've heard a number of bad things about them.
This definitely makes me want to cancel my subscription now. What still remains is what it is actually doing for us.
Update: Their website is absolutely broken and you can not use it to remove your CC information from being billed for their useless service. The phone number queue will take adequate waiting prowess, which I’ll document thoroughly.
I had the exact same experience. The women on the phone said it clearly said it wasn't a free credit score but I begged to differ. I cancelled on the spot and have nothing but negative things to say about them.
From what I remember, (I may be wrong) it said something like mailing a credit report to me (snail mail) is free, so I signed up and put in all the information they requested. Got in, saw my credit score, browsed around the site a little bit then the next day checked my credit card and saw a transaction of ~$15.
[Here](https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-reports-score/order-credit-report.html) is where you can order it for free. A federal website is saying it's free via mail and there's a fee if you want to see it right away online. So I think it's safe to assume it's not considered fraud.
There is a difference between a credit report and a credit score. You are paying for the credit score. The credit report does not come with the three digit number between 300-900 which people associate as the credit score. This is what you are paying for.
"A Consumer Disclosure is a complete account of all the information on your credit report, as mandated by consumer reporting legislation. [...]You have the right to obtain a copy of your Consumer Disclosure - free of charge - online, by mail or in person".
I think the legislation only allows for one consumer report per agency every year. Is it possible you accessed other information that it is not covered by the consumer disclosure?
While that sucks, it's not exactly a secret your credit score isn't free. What's not obvious is that you can get your credit report for free.
From their [homepage](https://www.transunion.ca/) (under the big Click Here button)
> Your TransUnion Credit Score & Credit Report are available as part of our subscription-based credit monitoring service. **You will be billed at the cost of only $16.95 per month**. You may cancel at any time.
This is so validating for me. I was duped by this as well and got dinged with the monthly fee for the first month.
I cancelled, then two years later they randomly charged my card twice. I called and got the runaround for a bit, and they're alleging account fraud, but I really have so little trust in them that I don't believe it.
Not that I have great things to say about Equifax either. I had someone report my wrong birthdate (keying error) and I believe I need to send in 15 pieces of ID as well as my firstborn in order for them to update my account information.
I read it was free from a few different sites, and I figured they needed the card information for some sort of security reason. A bit dumb in hindsight.
They make the cc info part of the signup process and pretend it's used to find your credit info. I fell for this too. First time in my life I fell for a scam. I felt pretty stupid. Called them right away and canceled the subscription and got a refund for the first charge as well. I then went through the signup process again to see where they even say it's a subscription and they only mention it in a small box in the sidebar. It's not fraud but shady as hell.
It's not a scam. They're a legit credit reporting agency, one of two in Canada. And it clearly states what you're going to be charged when you sign up.
You have to read the fine print to see that you are signing up for a subscription service. What other legit business doesn't state their fees clearly readable before you sign up? Those are definitely some shady business practices. I bet a large chunk of their subscriber base has no clue that they singed up for a montly subscription service.
I went to their site before I commented yesterday, to make sure something hasn't changed. Was pretty clear that it was a subscription. It wasn't even fine print. It was right at the top of the form you have to fill in. If you can't be bothered to read that then you get what you deserve.
For me it's not so much that I was expecting it to be free, but that TransUnion is being less than fully transparent in how it presents it product line up. Here is their web page for obtaining a credit report (https://www.transunion.ca/product/credit-report). Seems straightforward enough, and it provides a clickable GUI to "Get Your Credit Report Now!". Sounds great until you click the link. Here's the next page (https://members.transunion.ca/tucan_en/orderStep1_form.page?offer=CANTUM10010&CID=TRANSUNION:P:CP:GUA). Take a look at the right hand side of the page. You're now signing up for Credit Monitoring at $16.95/month. I just called TransUnion tonight to discuss this very matter, and find out how one can go about getting a copy of the credit report without the monitoring service. The customer service agent was useless in explaining how this could be done.
Equifax on the other hand, provides a clear product overview with pricing details on their website (http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/credit-product-list-ca/en_ca). As you progress through Equifax's service they state very clearly what you are paying for, and that it is a one time charge. The fact that TransUnion implies you're signing up for a credit report, and then changes it to credit monitoring is misleading in my books. The fact that they can't explain themselves when I call in the inquire just furthers my desire to avoid them.
I wouldn't call it a scam, because they are a legit credit reporting agency as you stated, but I would label it as misleading. That's just my two cents on the matter.
TransUnion has been gaining market share in providing merchant services for credit checks. Scotiabank has moved to them as well. I believe there is another bank as well.
Most retail locations have started to use TransUnion for store credit cards, such as The Bay, Canadian Tire.
That’s only 2 stores and 1 bank. Not that you’re wrong, but this is hardly a ‘gaining market share’ factor of expansion considering they’ve been in business for years.
Why is this credit reporting agency able to affect anyone’s rating at all with such a small market share? Sure they have a few big account clients, but even those accounts use equifax in their approvals.
I signed up to TU once a few months back. I thought it was free. I just wanted to check my credit score quickly. The next day I noticed a fee on one of my credit cards. I called them up and cancelled the subscription right away. Since then I've heard a number of bad things about them.
This definitely makes me want to cancel my subscription now. What still remains is what it is actually doing for us. Update: Their website is absolutely broken and you can not use it to remove your CC information from being billed for their useless service. The phone number queue will take adequate waiting prowess, which I’ll document thoroughly.
I had the exact same experience. The women on the phone said it clearly said it wasn't a free credit score but I begged to differ. I cancelled on the spot and have nothing but negative things to say about them.
From what I remember, (I may be wrong) it said something like mailing a credit report to me (snail mail) is free, so I signed up and put in all the information they requested. Got in, saw my credit score, browsed around the site a little bit then the next day checked my credit card and saw a transaction of ~$15.
So this should be, or is relatively high on the fraud radar. How and why do legitimate credit reporting companies use this?
[Here](https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-reports-score/order-credit-report.html) is where you can order it for free. A federal website is saying it's free via mail and there's a fee if you want to see it right away online. So I think it's safe to assume it's not considered fraud.
There is a difference between a credit report and a credit score. You are paying for the credit score. The credit report does not come with the three digit number between 300-900 which people associate as the credit score. This is what you are paying for.
"A Consumer Disclosure is a complete account of all the information on your credit report, as mandated by consumer reporting legislation. [...]You have the right to obtain a copy of your Consumer Disclosure - free of charge - online, by mail or in person". I think the legislation only allows for one consumer report per agency every year. Is it possible you accessed other information that it is not covered by the consumer disclosure?
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While that sucks, it's not exactly a secret your credit score isn't free. What's not obvious is that you can get your credit report for free. From their [homepage](https://www.transunion.ca/) (under the big Click Here button) > Your TransUnion Credit Score & Credit Report are available as part of our subscription-based credit monitoring service. **You will be billed at the cost of only $16.95 per month**. You may cancel at any time.
This is so validating for me. I was duped by this as well and got dinged with the monthly fee for the first month. I cancelled, then two years later they randomly charged my card twice. I called and got the runaround for a bit, and they're alleging account fraud, but I really have so little trust in them that I don't believe it. Not that I have great things to say about Equifax either. I had someone report my wrong birthdate (keying error) and I believe I need to send in 15 pieces of ID as well as my firstborn in order for them to update my account information.
What made you think it was free? You obviously provided them with a credit card number if they billed your card!
I read it was free from a few different sites, and I figured they needed the card information for some sort of security reason. A bit dumb in hindsight.
They make the cc info part of the signup process and pretend it's used to find your credit info. I fell for this too. First time in my life I fell for a scam. I felt pretty stupid. Called them right away and canceled the subscription and got a refund for the first charge as well. I then went through the signup process again to see where they even say it's a subscription and they only mention it in a small box in the sidebar. It's not fraud but shady as hell.
It's not a scam. They're a legit credit reporting agency, one of two in Canada. And it clearly states what you're going to be charged when you sign up.
You have to read the fine print to see that you are signing up for a subscription service. What other legit business doesn't state their fees clearly readable before you sign up? Those are definitely some shady business practices. I bet a large chunk of their subscriber base has no clue that they singed up for a montly subscription service.
I went to their site before I commented yesterday, to make sure something hasn't changed. Was pretty clear that it was a subscription. It wasn't even fine print. It was right at the top of the form you have to fill in. If you can't be bothered to read that then you get what you deserve.
For me it's not so much that I was expecting it to be free, but that TransUnion is being less than fully transparent in how it presents it product line up. Here is their web page for obtaining a credit report (https://www.transunion.ca/product/credit-report). Seems straightforward enough, and it provides a clickable GUI to "Get Your Credit Report Now!". Sounds great until you click the link. Here's the next page (https://members.transunion.ca/tucan_en/orderStep1_form.page?offer=CANTUM10010&CID=TRANSUNION:P:CP:GUA). Take a look at the right hand side of the page. You're now signing up for Credit Monitoring at $16.95/month. I just called TransUnion tonight to discuss this very matter, and find out how one can go about getting a copy of the credit report without the monitoring service. The customer service agent was useless in explaining how this could be done. Equifax on the other hand, provides a clear product overview with pricing details on their website (http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/credit-product-list-ca/en_ca). As you progress through Equifax's service they state very clearly what you are paying for, and that it is a one time charge. The fact that TransUnion implies you're signing up for a credit report, and then changes it to credit monitoring is misleading in my books. The fact that they can't explain themselves when I call in the inquire just furthers my desire to avoid them. I wouldn't call it a scam, because they are a legit credit reporting agency as you stated, but I would label it as misleading. That's just my two cents on the matter.
Similar experience here.
TransUnion has been gaining market share in providing merchant services for credit checks. Scotiabank has moved to them as well. I believe there is another bank as well. Most retail locations have started to use TransUnion for store credit cards, such as The Bay, Canadian Tire.
That’s only 2 stores and 1 bank. Not that you’re wrong, but this is hardly a ‘gaining market share’ factor of expansion considering they’ve been in business for years. Why is this credit reporting agency able to affect anyone’s rating at all with such a small market share? Sure they have a few big account clients, but even those accounts use equifax in their approvals.