U.S. Supreme Court Rejects TransUnion Appeal

About ten years ago, The Federal Trade Commission challenged the TransUnion's practice of selling lists of consumers with credit reports to various types of credit grantors. The lists of names and addresses did not include information about their credit standing, but were based on certain elements of the borrower's credit report, such as whether they owned a bank card. The FTC challenged the practice on the grounds that the Fair Credit Reporting Act did not permit such sales. TransUnion argued that a list of names and addresses did not constitute a credit reports and that TU was entitled to sell them as a matter of free speech. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and now the Supreme Court has agreed with the FTC. TU points out that it stopped selling the lists some years ago. While no class action suits have yet been filed, TU assures prospective plaintiffs that it will defend its position vigorously.