Did you have a credit card between Wednesday and 1987? Great! You’re part of a massive class action settlement with TransUnion. The credit reporting agency has agreed to fork out services worth over $100 to every cardholder as a way of saying “sorry for grossly violating federal privacy laws by selling your private data to businesses!”

Violated cardholders can select from two options:

(1) Basic relief. Free credit monitoring for six months, which gives you daily access to your credit report and credit score and 24-hour credit-monitoring service. This normally costs $59.75. Those who elect this option may get a cash payment if there’s money left from the $75 million settlement fund.

(2) Enhanced relief. An alternative enhanced set of services” in exchange for a full release of claims. This options includes nine months credit monitoring, a suite of insurance scores and TransUnion’s mortgage simulator service. This option normally would cost $115.50. You won’t be entitled to any cash payment under this option.

Option 1 could generate cash, but option 2 might provide your actual credit score, depending on which news outlet you believe. Option 2 has the potential to be worth significantly more to the average consumer.

Even better: “Under the settlement, a credit card number would not be required to sign up for either service. After the free service ends, TransUnion could not charge for an extension unless it was requested by the consumer.”

The settlement still needs to be approved, but if it is, it’ll be a huge win for consumers.

Ken McEldowney, executive director of Consumer Action, a national advocacy group based in San Francisco, called the settlement mind-boggling.

“It’s everything we tell consumers that they need to find out if they have problems with their credit,” he said. “They are getting information on how to improve it and information about whether they are creditworthy. This is astonishing.”

You can start filing claims on June 16 at the settlement website, or by calling (866) 416-3470.

Consumers will soon know the (credit) score [L.A. Times]
TransUnion Free Credit Score Settlement [Blueprint For Financial Prosperity]
(Photo: RobotSkirts)

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