Consumer complaint received 2017-01-28
Company: TRANSUNION INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, INC.
State: NV
Product: Credit reporting
Issue: Credit monitoring or identity protection
Sub-issue: Account terms and changes

Complaint:
I have subscribed for over 10 years to Transunion Credit Monitoring. I am preparing to reconfigure my finances and am trying to discontinue use of my credit cards. With those goals in mind, I began calling agenc- ies who are currently receiving automatic payments against my credit card accounts. I have asked each of those agencies to outline alterna- tive pay methods ( i.e. direct ACH transactions from my bank accounts, checks, XXXX, money orders, payments in advance on monthly sub- scriptions, etc. ) other than credit cards. On Friday, XXXX/XXXX/2017 I contact- ed Transunion Credit Monitoring by phone and put forth to them my re- quest for alternative subscription payment methods. Each representative that I spoke to there ( after asking repeatedly for my call to be escalated to a more senior decision maker ) insisted that the only subscription pay- ment methods they would accept were via credit or debit card. I explain- ed that I do n't use debit or own any debit cards and was attempting to extract myself from credit card usage to improve my finances and credit score. I asked for a third option, citing the fact that many people use credit monitoring services when they are just starting out in life, before they have sufficient means to obtain banking accounts or credit/debit cards. I asked the representative what payment system their company had in place to service the segment of the public that did not have access to a credit/debit card. The " supervisor '' that I was finally allowed to speak to kept repeating that she was offering me an alternative, to just use a debit card instead ( despite my explaining to her repeatedly that I do n't use/own debit cards ). I asked to speak with her supervisor or to have a higher representative of the company to contact me to address my concerns over their restriction of other payment options. I gave her my phone number and asked her to have said higher ranked company representative contact me. She informed me that any higher ranked company representative would just tell me the same thing that she had. 
I feel strongly that not having alternative credit monitoring subscription payment methods in place is a form of discrimination against the poor, people who ca n't afford a bank account or minimum banking account level requirements, or people who have simply not yet dev- eloped a sufficient credit profile to obtain a credit card. Such people are often individuals who need access to credit monitoring subscription to closely track their credit profile on a monthly basis. Though it may not have been Transunion 's policy when I first started using their services over a decade ago, I believe that they once allowed other methods of payments when I first began my subscription with them. I would beg the company to reconsider this restrictive payment policy that their represent- ative informed me they currently hold. In a time when so many people are economically distressed and without the means to own a credit/debit card, I find it astounding that Transunion would withhold subscription access to the monitoring services that the poor or economically disad- vantage would need to help improve their credit profile. Please inform me if the company will be willing to make other service payment options available to myself and others. I can not understand why they can not accept money orders or cashier checks to pay either monthly or for a year 's service in advance.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation