Judge Orders a Credit Bureau to Stop Selling Consumer Lists
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A Federal administrative law judge today ordered one of the nation’s largest credit bureaus to stop selling detailed credit information on millions of consumers to advertisers and marketers without the consumers’ permission. The company said that the judge was wrong and that it would continue its practice until an appeal was decided. The credit bureau, the Trans Union Corporation, maintains exhaustive financial records on as many as 200 million Americans. The company defended its right to sell the information, including details on credit card accounts, mortgages, and auto and student loans. ”Our position is, this is not private and personal information,” said Oscar Marquis, the company’s general counsel. He added that Trans Union would appeal the ruling, by Judge James P. Timony of the Federal Trade Commission, and continue its marketing practices in the meantime. Trans Union is one of three national credit bureaus that gather extensive credit and financial data on virtually every adult in the nation, for use by banks, mortgage companies and credit card issuers that need the information when deciding whether to make a loan or issue a credit card. More : query.nytimes.com |