TransUnion Canada was reported to the Deceptive Design Tip Line over the way its credit report options are presented. According to the report, the reporter chose the “Credit Report” option to obtain their credit report and was made to pay for a credit monitoring service they had not asked for. The report says it was not clear that free access to one’s credit record required clicking “Consumer Disclosure” rather than “Credit Report”; the “Consumer Disclosure” wording made the report sound less complete, while the “Credit Report” option was bundled with a $24.95/month credit monitoring service. According to the report, only small text on the main page indicated the bundling, the account sign-up presented the service as already “chosen”, and a credit card number was requested in a way that appeared to be part of identity verification.
Transunion Canada: Misleading option leads to subscription
“I chose the “Credit Report” option to get my credit report, and was forced to pay for a credit monitoring service I did not ask for. It is not clear at all that in order to get free access to my credit record, I had to click on “Consumer Disclosure” rather than “Credit Report”. The Consumer Disclosure option also makes it sound as though the report would be less complete, as it is not even referred to as a “credit report”, but rather “consumer disclosure”. The Credit Report option is automatically bundled with a $24.95/month credit monitoring service. There is small text on the main page indicating that the service would be bundled, but nothing in the description page of the “Credit Report” option says such. When making the account, it does say that I “have chosen” the service in the sidebar, but there really was no choice to begin with, and it looks like an offer, more than anything. It does asks for a credit card number, but it appears as though it is part of the identity verification process.”