TransUnion
In 1968, a railcar leasing company known as Union Tank
Car Company created TransUnion as a new reporting company.
In the 30 plus years that have followed, TransUnion has
become one of the three major credit bureaus in the Unites
States.
As a credit bureau, TransUnion receives reports from various
lending institutions about the credit history of their
clients, becoming a centralized location for storing this
information. TransUnion uses this information, along with
a formula developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation to develop
what TransUnion calls an Empirica score, as well as a
credit report. While all major credit bureaus use the
Fair Isaac Corporations formula (which produces what is
commonly known as a FICA score), each agency names their
results differently for marketing purposes.
A TransUnion score does not have to be, and probably will
not be, identical to the score used by other companies.
This may become evident if you look closely at a TransUnion
credit report versus other credit reports. A credit report
is a detailed financial history, and contains the information
used to develop your TransUnion Empirica score. TransUnion
does this by placing numerical weights on different aspects
of your credit report. Depending on the type of loan you
are looking for, there are many different models and mathematical
formulas used to present your credit eligibility. TransUnion
uses several different types of scores in their product
portfolio in order to appeal to the vast array of creditors
and credit applications; however their most popular by
far is the Empirica score which is used for determining
general credit worthiness. The following is how your score
is weighted.
10% - Type of Credit Use
10% - New Credit
15% - Length of Credit History
30% - Amounts owed (balance to credit limit ratio)
35% - Payment History
Understanding the elements used to build a credit score
allow you to control your credit habits and maintain a
good score. A person with a few revolving accounts that
have been established for over 10 years, carries a low
balance and has no late fees will have a higher score
than a person who has had one credit card for a single
year and has over half of his available credit committed.
It is important to ensure you have no late payments, few
revolving credit accounts, and carry a low balance. Also
of note, while there are many non-profit credit counseling
agencies willing to assist people in balancing their debt,
TransUnion does report any intervention by these types
of agencies. How that look depends on the exact model
used to develop a score, which will largely be dependent
on the person giving you credit. Using those types of
services to avoid bankruptcy is a good plan, however,
an individual should be cautious and completely investigate
their options before using one of these agencies if there
is no threat of bankruptcy. There is no guarantee future
lenders will view intervention by a credit counseling
agency in a positive manner.
Another aspect of business performed by TransUnion is
to provide lists of potential customers to various lending
institutions. This leads to consumers receiving invitations
to apply for credit cards and other loan programs. While
some people are willing to accept these offers and prefer
to evaluate the offers they receive, others do not find
it to be an acceptable practice. Luckily, if a person
wants their name left off of the list, they can send a
request to have their name removed from the lists TransUnion
releases. To do so, send a letter to TransUnion stating
you would like to opt out of the list; this letter should
include your first, middle and last name, current address,
previous address, social security number, date of birth,
signature, and be sent to the address provided below.
TransUnion LLC's Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 97328
Jackson, MS 39288-7328
Contact information for TransUnion is provided below.
TransUnion Consumer Relations
P. O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-916-8800
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