Consumer complaint received 2022-07-20
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports — Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report — Personal information incorrect
Company: TRANSUNION INTERMEDIATE HOLDINGS, INC. (NH)

Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I write to you with a great deal of frustration in fighting systemic barriers affecting people of XXXX experience. Earlier, I received a response from TransUnion, who for the third time now, has refused to amend my legal name on my TransUnion credit report. I have presented to them overwhelming documentation of the name change court order, proofs of residency, copies of government issued IDs, and personal notarized letters, and yet still, they refuse to remove my dead name from my credit report, which as a XXXX  person is not only distressing, but also puts me at increased risk of discrimination, harassment, assault, and rejected applications and background checks in finance, housing, and work, due to a name mismatch. 

On my report, they currently have my current legal name listed along with my dead name, which is absolutely not acceptable, and invalidates my identity as a person. I don't have XXXX different names, I have one, and for them to outright refuse to respect that is extremely insulting. And this is a company that falsely portrays themselves as an " ally '' of the XXXX community, stating on their website : TransUnion is a proud ally of the XXXX community, and were committed to helping consumers navigate the name change process. [ ... ] TransUnion remains committed to making sure your credit report is accurate and reflects your identity. ( XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX I pointed out this company policy to them, and I have clearly stated to them in three separate letters the name of my identity, and I have provided ample documentation as such, yet they continue to invalidate my identity by dead naming my credit report. 

Already I am experiencing repercussions that are a result of TransUnions corporate negligence and violations of my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( FCRA ), which stipulates that reporting agencies have a duty to delete or correct inaccurate information in a credit report ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ). Since notifying TransUnion multiple times of my legal name change, and their failure to amend my credit report, three of my applications to open a bank account have been rejected due to failed credit report background checks, and two of my job applications were rejected due to failed credit report background checks, problems I have never experienced until now. I am currently seeking employment, and I need to open an account with a different bank, as I am planning to move to an area that is not served by my local bank. Furthermore, I will need to apply to lease an apartment in the near future, and I fear I will be similarly rejected due to a failed credit report background check. 

I want to emphasize that I am not trying to avoid bad credit, and I am not going through some third party credit report fixing agency, which TransUnion baselessly accused me of in response to my first letter to them, and is why I needed to start having my letters to them notarized at my own personal expense. I have excellent credit, and I want to preserve my credit history, but it must be under my current legal name, and must not include my dead name, as is my legal right under the FCRA. My dead name is inaccurate, it no longer refers to a legal entity, and I am duty bound by the courts to fully discontinue using my former legal name, as doing so would be considered fraud, and I must use my current legal name for all legal relationships. 

More broadly, these acts of negligence and violations of consumer rights by TransUnion outline a recurring pattern among consumer reporting agencies. The XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a trade organization representing the credit reporting industry including the three big, nationwide credit bureaus, Transunion, XXXX, and XXXX, offers guidance on how transgender and nonbinary individuals can try to avoid credit disruptions after changing their names XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  ). However, a group of consumer advocate organizations in this letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ), Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ), Senate Banking Committee, and House Financial Services Committee, notes that XXXXXXXX  and nonbinary consumers face myriad credit reporting problems after they change their names with serious consequences for their financial and personal lives. ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX While these organizations praised the CDIAs guidance, in the letter, they make recommendations on additional steps credit reporting agencies should take to improve the process. 

XXXX negligence in my case has caused me significant distress, as it is triggering for my XXXX  XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX. I shouldnt have to fight this battle, a battle that disproportionately impacts people of XXXX  experience. Correcting the name on a credit report following a legal name change should be easy and standard procedure, not an insurmountable barrier of corporate bureaucracy and negligence, that for months on end bars people from being able to access basic services in finance, housing, and employment. TransUnion needs to be held accountable for their corporate negligence and denial of my legal right to accurate consumer reporting.