TransUnion

TransUnion, LLC
Public
Traded as NYSE: TRU
Russell 1000 Component
Industry Information technology
Founded February 8, 1968 (1968-02-08)
Headquarters 555 W Adams St, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 James M. Peck (CEO)
Products Credit reports
Services Credit information
Revenue IncreaseUS$1.93 billion (2017)[1]
IncreaseUS$300.5 million (2016)[1]
IncreaseUS$120.6 million (2016)[1]
Total assets IncreaseUS$4.781 billion (2016)[1]
Total equity IncreaseUS$1.363 billion (2016)[1]
Number of employees
 4,700 (2016)[1]
Website www.transunion.com

TransUnion is an American consumer credit reporting agency. TransUnion collects and aggregates information on over one billion individual consumers in over thirty countries including "200 million files profiling nearly every credit-active consumer in the United States".[2] Its customers include over 65,000 businesses.[3] Based in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion's 2014 revenue was US$1.3 billion.[4] It is the smallest of the three largest credit agencies, along with Experian and Equifax (known as the "Big Three").[5]

TransUnion also markets credit reports and other credit and fraud-protection products directly to consumers. Like all credit reporting agencies, the company is required by U.S. law to provide consumers with one free credit report every year.[6]

History

TransUnion was originally formed in 1968 as a holding company for the railroad leasing organization, Union Tank Car Company. The following year, it acquired the Credit Bureau of Cook County, which possessed and maintained 3.6 million card files.[7] In 1981, a Chicago-based holding company The Marmon Group acquired TransUnion for approximately $688 million.[8][9] Almost thirty years later, in 2010, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Advent International acquired it from Madison Dearborn Partners[10] In 2014, TransUnion acquired Hank Asher's data company TLO.[11] On June 25, 2015, TransUnion became a publicly traded company for the first time, trading under the symbol TRU.

TransUnion has evolved its business over the years to offer products and services for both businesses and consumers. For businesses, TransUnion has evolved its traditional credit score offering to include trended data that helps predict consumer repayment and debt behavior. This product, referred to as CreditVision, launched in October 2013.[12]

Its SmartMove™ service facilitates credit and background checks for consumers who may be serving in a landlord capacity.[13]

In September 2013, the company acquired eScan Data Systems of Austin to provide post-service eligibility determination support to hospitals and healthcare systems. The technology was integrated into TransUnion's ClearIQ platform that tracks patients demographic and insurance related information to support benefit verification.[14]

In November 2013, TransUnion acquired TLO LLC, a company that leverages data in support of its investigative and risk management tools. Its TLOxp technology aggregates data sets and using a proprietary algorithm to uncover relationships between data that were not possible before.[15]

In 2014, a TransUnion analysis found that reporting rental payment information to credit bureaus can positively affect credit scores. To benefit consumers, they initiated a service called ResidentCredit, making it easy for property owners to report data about their tenants to TransUnion on a monthly basis. These reports include the amount each tenant pays, the timeliness of their last payment, and any remaining balance the tenant currently owes. As a result, companies have started reporting rent payment information to TransUnion, including YapStone, Inc., Pangea Real Estate, and RentReporters.

As part of its fraud protection products, it also offers business a tool called DecisionEdge that aggregates the data needed to prevent fraud through a system that customizes the information needed to finalize a transaction.[16]

For consumers, TransUnion offers credit monitoring and identity theft protection tools. The company's app offers a function called CreditLock that allows an individual to unlock and lock their credit to help protect against fraudulent activity.

In mid-April 2018, TransUnion announced it intended to buy UK-based CallCredit Information Group for $1.4 billion,[17] subject to regulatory approval.

In 2003, Judy Thomas of Klamath Falls, Oregon, was awarded $5.3 million in a successful lawsuit against TransUnion. The award was made on the grounds that it took her six years to get TransUnion to remove incorrect information in her credit report.[18]

In 2006, after spending two years trying to correct erroneous credit information that resulted from being a victim of identity theft, a fraud victim named Sloan filed suit against all three of the USA's largest credit agencies. TransUnion and Experian settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In Sloan v. Equifax, a jury awarded Sloan $351,000. "She wrote letters. She called them. They saw the problem. They just didn't fix it," said her attorney, A. Hugo Blankingship III.[19]

TransUnion has also been criticized for concealing charges. Many users complained of not being aware of a $17.95/month charge for holding a TransUnion account.[20]

In March 2015, following a settlement with the New York Attorney-General, TransUnion, along with other credit reporting companies, Experian and Equifax, agreed to help consumers with errors and red flags on credit reports. Under the new settlement, credit-reporting firms are required to use trained employees to respond when a consumer flags a mistake on their file. These employees are responsible for communicating with the lender and resolving the dispute.[21]

In June 2017, a California jury ruled against Transunion with a $60 million verdict in the largest FCRA verdict in history.[22] The San Francisco federal court jury awarded $60 million in damages to consumers who were falsely reported on a government list of terrorists and other security threats. The plaintiffs' team of attorneys at Francis & Mailman, P.C. partnered with another California-based firm in the class action.

Security issues

On 13 October 2017, the website for TransUnion's Central American division was reported to have been redirecting visitors to websites that attempted drive-by downloads of malware disguised as Adobe Flash updates.[23][24] The attack had been performed by hijacking third-party analytics JavaScript from Digital River brand FireClick.[25][23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "TRU Income Statement - TransUnion Stock - Yahoo Finance". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Customer Credit Check | TransUnion". TransUnion. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  3. ↑ "Global Presence | A Powerful, Global Force | TransUnion". TransUnion. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  4. ↑ "TransUnion SEC Filing (2014)". SEC. SEC. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "How to protect yourself against the theft of your identity". The Economist. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Free Credit Reports". Consumer Information. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2017-09-23.
  7. ↑ "TransUnion Company History". TransUnion. TransUnion. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Marmon Group
  9. ↑ Cunningham, Lawrence. "Book: All One." Berkshire beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values,". New York Columbia Business School. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Advent and Goldman to buy TransUnion in $3B Deal". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "TransUnion Closes Acquisition of TLO". Inside Arm. Inside Arm. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "How Borrowers Can Use TransUnion CreditVision to Get Better Loan Rates | GOBankingRates". GOBankingRates. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  13. ↑ "Tenant Screening: Why Landlords Conduct Background Checks Before Accepting Your Offer -- Should You be Worried?". Realty Today. 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  14. ↑ "TransUnion acquires Austin's eScan Data Systems - Austin Business Journal". Austin Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  15. ↑ "Court gives approval for TransUnion-TLO merger". Venture Capital Post. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  16. ↑ "TransUnion enhances fraud detection". IT-Online. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  17. ↑ "TransUnion to buy UK-based Callcredit for $1.4 billion". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
  18. ↑ Block, Sandra. "Fixing errors in credit report is no small task", USA Today, 2005-08-27.
  19. ↑ Baldas, Tresa. "Consumer Lawsuits Against Credit Bureaus Are Multiplying", The National Law Journal, 2006-08-16.
  20. ↑ "Top 604 Reviews and Complaints about TransUnion". ConsumerAffairs. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  21. ↑ "http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/09/pf/credit-reporting-agencies-settlement/". CNN Money. CNN. Retrieved 13 May 2015. External link in |title= (help)
  22. ↑ "TransUnion hit with $60 million jury verdict over blacklist alerts". Reuters.
  23. 1 2 "Equifax rival TransUnion also sends site visitors to malicious pages". arstechnica.co.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Equifax website showed you ads full of malware, expert finds". cnet.com. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "Malicious Redirects on Equifax, TransUnion Sites Caused by Third-Party Script - SecurityWeek.Com". www.securityweek.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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