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Complete Story
10/21/2019
‘Absolute scam’: Complaints about credit monitoring plans flood CFPB
American Banker
WASHINGTON — Before Alex Biviano was hired as a server by a popular restaurant chain, his prospective employer sought details about his credit. To provide the information, Biviano paid what he thought would be just a $1 fee to TransUnion to see his credit report. But the process ended up costing him a lot more, he says.
Biviano alleges he was deceived into enrolling in TransUnion's $20-per-month credit monitoring plan. He is among over 100 hundred consumers who recently have complained to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about being unwittingly enrolled in services offered by one of the three credit bureaus that they say they never wanted.
The charges, which are public on the CFPB's complaint database, have alarmed consumer advocates. They say the data suggests the credit bureaus — most notably TransUnion — have resumed questionable disclosure practices already identified in prior enforcement actions that effectively trap unknowing consumers into expensive plans they never sought.
“I felt scammed, honestly,” said Biviano, a 20-year-old college student from Spokane, Wash., in an interview. “I lost my mind.”
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