TransUnion is a credit reference agency, which is a firm that holds detailed information about people’s credit history. It’s one of the main three credit reference agencies in the UK, alongside Equifax and Experian.
Organisations can request the data that a credit reference agency holds about you when you apply for products that have a credit element, ranging from phone contracts to mortgages.
What is TransUnion?
TransUnion is a multinational credit reference agency headquartered in Chicago. In 2018 it established a UK presence by acquiring Callcredit, a Leeds-based credit reference agency.
TransUnion is one of the UK’s three main credit reference agencies, alongside Equifax and Experian. It’s the newest player in the market among these three firms, because Callcredit wasn’t founded until 2000.
You can check the data that TransUnion has about your credit history by requesting a free credit report from the firm.
Unlike the other two credit reference agencies, TransUnion doesn’t directly offer a service to check your credit score. However, it partners with other services that allow you to see your TransUnion credit score for free.
It’s a good idea to check what data each credit reference agency has about your credit history, especially if you’re going to apply for credit, such as a personal loan, mortgage or credit card.
You could start by looking at your credit score, which helps to show you how a lender may view your credit application. You can then investigate further by getting a credit report from each firm.
How does TransUnion work?
TransUnion is fairly limited in terms of its services you can access directly as a consumer.
While Equifax and Experian have accounts you can sign up for that give you access to your credit report and score, TransUnion doesn’t offer a similar area that you can log in to.
TransUnion gives you instant online access to your credit report, but you have to enter your details each time you want to check it. And unlike Equifax and Experian, TransUnion doesn’t provide access to its credit score directly.
Instead, TransUnion partners with services such as TotallyMoney and Credit Karma. If you sign up for a free account with these services, you’ll be able to see your TransUnion credit score and view data from your credit report.
These services aren’t credit reference agencies themselves. Instead, they use TransUnion data to calculate your credit score and give you key information from your TransUnion credit file. This is similar to ClearScore, which uses Equifax data instead.
Your TransUnion credit score
You can check your TransUnion credit score by using:
- Checkmyfile (free 30-day trial, £14.99 a month after)
- Credit Karma (free)
- TotallyMoney (free)
To help you understand the health of your credit history, the credit reference agencies calculate a number based on the data in your credit file. This number – your credit score – helps to show you how a lender might view your credit application.
You have three separate scores, because the three credit reference agencies work them out differently. There can also be slight variations in the data they base your score on, because not all financial firms report information to each one.
And a lender will often use its own system when deciding on your application for credit, so your credit score is just a guide to how it might view the data in your credit file.
A good credit score indicates that you may be less risky to lend to, and you could receive better interest rates as a result. On the other hand, a bad credit score indicates that lenders may be more reluctant to lend to you – you may be given worse interest rates or rejected altogether.
With time, it’s possible to improve your credit score before applying for credit, which could help you receive a lower interest rate.
The TransUnion credit score ranges from 0 to 710 with credit ratings from ‘very poor’ to ‘excellent’.
| TransUnion credit rating | TransUnion credit score |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 628+ |
| Good | 604 to 627 |
| Fair | 566 to 603 |
| Poor | 551 to 565 |
| Very poor | Less than 550 |
Your TransUnion credit report
TransUnion has an area of its website that lets you view your credit report, compiling the information and credit data that TransUnion has about you.
To access your report, you need to enter your personal details and your email address. TransUnion will then email you an authentication code.
After you enter this, TransUnion will ask you some questions about your credit history to confirm your identity. If you answer these correctly you’ll be able to access your report, which you can see online or download as a PDF.
You need to go through this process each time you want to look at your report, because TransUnion doesn’t have a member area where you can log in.
You can also ask for a paper copy of your report by filling out an application form and sending it to TransUnion in the post.
Is there a TransUnion membership?
Although the features you can access for free are limited, both Equifax and Experian allow you to create an online account.
If you want to, you can then pay monthly to access further services, such as more regular updates for your credit score and enhanced protection against fraud.
TransUnion doesn’t offer a similar online account. Instead, to have ongoing access to your TransUnion credit report and score, you could explore the services it partners with – Credit Karma, TotallyMoney and Checkmyfile.
Credit Karma and TotallyMoney both solely use TransUnion data, while Checkmyfile collects data from all three credit reference agencies.
| Checkmyfile | Credit Karma | TotallyMoney | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit report updated | Daily | Weekly | Daily |
| Cost | £14.99 a month after free 30-day trial | Free | Free |
| Credit report alerts | No | Yes | Yes |
Is TransUnion accurate?
TransUnion bases your credit report on the data that financial firms give it about your credit accounts, along with publicly available information such as whether you’re bankrupt or have any county court judgments (CCJs).
And if you’re looking at your credit score using a service that TransUnion partners with, that’s also based on TransUnion data.
In this way, TransUnion is no more or less accurate than Equifax and Experian. While each credit reference agency calculates scores slightly differently, they should be using similar information about your credit history.
There can be slight variations in the data, because not all firms report data to each credit reference agency. But generally, if your score sits in a particular range with one credit reference agency, it should sit in a similar position elsewhere.
If your TransUnion credit score isn’t where you think it should be, it’s a good idea to investigate further. There may be a problem with the underlying data – for example, TransUnion might not have up-to-date electoral roll information, while the others do.
Is TransUnion safe?
TransUnion is a legitimate company and its UK business is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
To access your TransUnion credit report, you need to enter your personal details and answer some questions about your credit information. You need to do this every time you want to look at your report.
As a UK business that handles personal data, TransUnion has to adhere to strict laws and regulation around data protection, including the Data Protection Act.
TransUnion says that it processes data according to “strict security standards and procedures.”
Whether you’re using TransUnion or a service it partners with, it’s important to stay safe online. This includes using strong, unique passwords, turning on multi-factor authentication where possible and keeping your software and apps up-to-date. Antivirus software and firewalls are also essential in defending against malware and spyware. You can find out more at the National Cyber Security Centre.
TransUnion FAQs
If you think that the information on your TransUnion credit report is incorrect, you can raise a dispute online.
You do this by going to the section of your online report that has the incorrect details and clicking the ‘raise a dispute’ button.
If you requested a paper copy of your report, then TransUnion has an online form that you can submit with details of your dispute.
Otherwise you can write to TransUnion. Its address is:
PO BOX 647
Unit 4
Hull
HU9 9QZ
Even though TransUnion compiles your report each time that you request one, it only receives updates from organisations every four to six weeks. It says that it updates your report with the latest financial account information every 28 days.
Image source: Getty Images
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