Credit Monitoring

QA I heard that free credit monitoring is available because of a legal settlement. How can I qualify?

–T. Brown

Atlanta

As a result of a class-action lawsuit settlement with TransUnion, if you had an open credit card, loan, or credit account over the past 21 years, you’re eligible to receive six or nine months of credit monitoring free of charge as well as unlimited access to your TransUnion credit report and score. The suit claims that Trans Union violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it sold consumer information to third parties for marketing purposes.

If you sign up for six months of monitoring, you can register to receive a cash reward in the event that a cash distribution is made. You can also file an individual lawsuit against TransUnion. However, if you sign up for nine months. you cannot register to receive a cash payment, and you cannot file an individual lawsuit. Note that only one registration is permitted per person. Also, the score you see on your report isn’t your FICO score, which ranges from 300 to 850. The score that you’ll receive is the TransUnion VantageScore, which ranges from 501 to 990.