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LAST UPDATED: March 19th, 2021

TrustedID began operations as an independent company in 2004. In 2013, it was acquired by Equifax and has operated as a subsidiary of Equifax since that time. In this review, we'll take a look at TrustedID's IDEssentials product in detail.

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The Good

  • Triple-bureau credit reports
  • Live chat support
  • Identity protection
  • Plan options

Triple-Bureau Credit Reports

In addition to monitoring for, and alerting members of, key changes to their credit reports, as a part of its IDEssentials plan, TrustedID provides its members with credit reports from each of the major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This enables customers to get a solid, comprehensive look at their credit health.

Live Chat Support

TrustedID offers live chat support on its website for both prospectiveand current members. We wanted to spotlight this because too few companies in this industry offer chat support. In our opinion, the more ways to contact customer service, the better, especially when a company is willing to provide this level of support before one signs up. The response time is acceptable and questions are answered in a timely manner.

Identity Protection

As one can gather from its name, TrustedID is primarily an identity theft protection company. As such, it does offer a fairly robust suite of identity protection and monitoring tools, including Facebook privacy monitoring, credit monitoring, black market monitoring, a proprietary identity theft score that measures one's risk of having their identity stolen, lost wallet protection, live identity protection specialists, and the like.

Plan Options

TrustedID offers a number of plan options that range in price from $9.17 to $24.99 per month. Because there are several packages to choose from, customers have the ability to select a plan that fits their budget and coverage needs.
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The Bad

  • Undisclosed scoring model
  • Lack of updates
  • Monthly refresh rate

Undisclosed Scoring Model

It is unclear which model TrusteID uses to report its customers' credit scores. The vast majority of lenders use the FICO model, but there are a number of credit monitoring companies that only report the VantageScore. Because of this, there can be major differences in the score that customers believe they have and the score that lenders actually see. This lack of transparency can be frustrating for potential customers who want to make sure that they will be receiving FICO scores.

Lack of Updates

TrustedID's website seems to be very dated, which can be an issue because customers primarily access and use the companies services online. Additionally, it appears that the company does not provide a mobile app for its customers.

Monthly Refresh Rate

TrustedID only refreshes credit scores and reports once per month. This is not up to par, as scores can change drastically within that time frame and many companies in the industry provide weekly or even daily updates.
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The Bottom Line

TrustedID offers triple-bureau credit reporting, live chat support, identity protection services, and several plan options. However, the company has not disclosed which scoring model it uses and only refreshes scores on a monthly basis. Additionally, TrustedID's website seems dated and no mobile app is offered.

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2 Reviews

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Anthony West Jordan, UT

I have used TrustedID.com for over a year and I was very happy with it keeping me informed of any changes to my credit. It also provides ID protection, which I luckily have never had an issue with. Don't go through life thinking your credit score is safe, companies are screwing it all the time and you need to have a service like this so you stand a chance! However, when I was applying for a loan recently I was told my credit score was too low. I quickly accessed my TrustedID.com account and found that the only score(3 scores) I could see was the from the "annual free report" that TrustedID downloaded for me to my account 8 months before. When I asked their customer service (which is very helpful) if the banks were looking at a more current credit score than the scores from 8 months ago, they said, "YES." So don't think they have your CURRENT credit score OR your current credit report

10 years ago

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VFW Veteran Washington, DC

I agree with SVIKS, there is nothing this site is doing for you to manage your credit score and/or monitor your identity that isn't provided free by the credit bureau or your bank. They have set up a website that appears to lock your credit down but in essence you have the same power they do by going directly to the credit bureau. The generic forms you fill out are unprofessional and will get you nasty letters back from the respective advertisment agencies stating you have already been removed from these advertisement listings by law. Their claims of reducing clutter mail, not so much, I have more clutter now than I did before I contacted them. BLUF: This company is taking your money w/o providing any real service accept an insurance policy. I cancelled my annual service and took my whipping of only half my money back for the year, I guess it' better than giving it all to them! I The only good thing is that I learned a valueable lesson.

10 years ago