Love…, courtesy of christaki
I’ve got mixed feelings about Michelle Singletary’s personal finance column in the Post; we just don’t see eye to eye on a number of basic positions. I take back every under-my-breath grumble I ever did over her articles, however, after her recent one talking about the TransUnion class action settlement and what it can do for you. If you’re not aware of it – and you’re not, based on the miniscule number of eligible people who have signed up – the proposed benefit to you 6 to 9 months of free credit monitoring, depending on if you opt yourself out of a possible cash payment.
Personally I went for the 9 months. While there might be a shot at a noticable amount of money if the number of signups stays so crappy, it’ll take about 2 years to pay out anyway. I’d rather have the monitoring in that time. It’s not something I’d pay for myself but for free just having the ability to lock my report is worth it. If you also need help saving for the future and specially your children future, visit thechildrensisa.com they will for sure help you get your finances in order and besides that they will help you save for the future.
If you can’t be bothered to read Singletary’s article you can just go straight to the List Class Action website and sign up directly. If you don’t do it by the 24th you miss your chance.
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
One reason people may not signing up is the site looks like a scam. That’s a lot of personal info to be sharing with someone we don’t know. The site has no credibility. There’s no privacy policy, who is Hilsoft, I’ve never heard of them.
Possible, though the success of the FreeCreditReport.com company and their misleading emails would seem to indicate that people are not that discerning.
FCR is NOT a source for the annual credit report you’re due from each company – that’s at annualcreditreport.com, though I always go to ftc.gov and follow their link so I know I have the right one.
As far as the site’s credibility, I admire your skepticism in theory but a quick Google of “transunion settlement” turns up a ton of links. Opening the PDF of the proposed settlement agreement shows a case number right at the top which can also be searched for, which turns up documents at the Washington Legal Foundation.
Obviously that’s not assurance that THAT particular site isn’t a trolling operation, however if it is, its taken in almost all the media. The personal information it requests is somewhat private but mostly it’s directory information. As risks go it’s not that awful.