PrivacyGuard
Is This Your Business?PrivacyGuard is a service of Trilegiant Corporation in conjunction with Trilegiant Insurance Services, Inc. and Alliance Marketing Association. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Its services are available to all U.S. residents except for those in the states of Iowa, Rhode Island, and Vermont. PrivacyGuard is an identity theft protection company that provides a variety of credit monitoring services.
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The Good
- Triple-bureau credit monitoring and reporting
- Daily credit monitoring with alert notifications
- Personal resolution expert provided
- Identity theft protection included
- Credit score simulator
- Credit education information
Triple-Bureau Monitoring and Reporting
PrivacyGuard offers fast and secure access to all three of your credit bureau reports and scores based on data from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. This will allow you to easily review all the reports, identify any errors, and see if anything appears suspicious. Some credit monitoring companies only provide you access to one credit bureau report. Therefore, PrivacyGuard is a good choice in that respect.Daily Credit Monitoring with Alert Notifications
PrivacyGuard states it will monitor your credit on a daily basis and send you quick notifications by text, email, or phone when certain changes occur in your credit files.Personal Resolution Expert Provided
PrivacyGuard's service includes a personal resolution expert that will help you every step of the way should you become a victim of identity theft. Additionally, the PrivacyGuard website states the company is ranked #1 in customer service by Contact Center World, although we have seen some feedback that is to the contrary; we'll go over that later on in this review.Identity Theft Protection Included
After signing up with PrivacyGuard, you will be provided with free identity theft protection, which includes the following benefits:- Identity theft protection service
- Identity fraud support service to help restore your identity if you become a victim
- Credit card protection
- Identity protection education that will help you learn how you can prevent identity theft and get helpful tips for protecting your credit
Credit Score Simulator
PrivacyGuard's credit score simulator will allow you to see how certain changes in your financial behavior could impact your credit score positively or negatively. The credit score simulator takes the information contained in your credit report to give you a personal assessment of how what you want to do could affect your score. This will help you make a more informed decision about whether or not any given action is what you actually want to do.Credit Education Information
While PrivacyGuard does provide an educational resource library, there really aren't a whole lot of articles there. However, the articles that are provided are the ones that answer the most commonly asked credit questions. Therefore, it's worth taking a look at, especially if you have some basic questions you want answered.The Bad
- FICO scores not provided
- Monthly refresh rate
- Possible customer service issues
FICO Scores Not Provided
Although PrivacyGuard monitors all three credit bureau reports, the company doesn't give you your FICO scores. Your FICO scores are what most lenders use to determine creditworthiness. However, PrivacyGuard uses an Experian Scorex PLUS credit score tracker. This means that the numbers it provides could differ from your true FICO scores and therefore shouldn't be depended on to make any solid assumptions about your creditworthiness.Monthly Refresh Rate
Many credit monitoring companies refresh your credit information daily or weekly. However, PrivacyGuard does not offer that frequency; it only refreshes your credit report information monthly. This leaves you at a bit of a disadvantage for quickly finding and fixing any issues that might occur. However, with that being said, the company will send you an alert should it detect a potential problem.Possible Customer Service Issues
Over the last year or so, we've received some negative feedback on our website about PrivacyGuard's customer service not being helpful. Everyone's perception of good customer service is different and no company can please everyone all the time. However, since there were a few recent complaints, we thought it was worth mentioning. The best way to determine the level of customer service you will receive is to contact them yourself to see how you are treated. Then you can make a decision based on personal experience and not just hearsay.The Bottom Line
There's plenty to like about PrivacyGuard. The company uses all three major credit reporting agencies for monitoring and reporting your credit. It also offers daily credit monitoring with alert notifications if it detects a potential problem. You will also be given a personal resolution expert, identity theft protection, access to a credit score simulator, and credit education information. However, PrivacyGuard doesn't provide you with any of your FICO scores. Additionally, the company only refreshes your available credit information once a month. That and the fact that the company might possibly be experiencing some issues with its customer service staff means you should take some time to perform your own due diligence to determine whether or not these issues are a deciding factor in your final decision.
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