Privacy Guard Review

Cristina By: Cristina | Last updated April 13, 2017

person holding a credit card in front of laptop, credit monitoring, privacy guard

8.2 / 10

TRY IT NOW

Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.

PROS:

  • They offer credit monitoring for all three major credit bureaus
  • Toll-free 24/7 customer support
  • Credit score simulator and identity fraud scanning included
  • Affordable
  • Free antivirus included

CONS:

  • The overall design of the website leaves room for improvement
  • The credit scores are not based on the FICO system, but on the CreditXpert
Show More

SUMMARY:

Privacy Guard provides credit monitoring, credit reports, credit scores and identity protection services. 

Privacy Guard has had its share of complaints and lawsuits. It only has a B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The most common complaints were related to charges for unauthorized services and deceptive advertising.

CHECK PRICE

COMPLETE REVIEW

The website belongs to Trilegiant Corporation, a branch of Affinion Group, which is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company was founded in 1991.

In addition to their identity theft protection services, Privacy Guard offers daily credit monitoring and access to all three credit reports and scores.

Just like some competitors, Privacy Guard doesn’t give customers scores based on The FICO system. They use CreditXpert. Lenders usually take into consideration the FICO system when calculating scores for credit eligibility. However, CreditXpert scores can be helpful too for educational purposes, because they can give you a good approximation.

Privacy Guard gives you monthly updates on your credit reports from all three credit bureaus, as well as on your credit scores.

The daily monitoring services will send you alerts in case of any changes to your accounts, public records, address, etc. You will receive alerts via phone or email. If no suspicious activity is discovered, they will just provide a monthly notification that attests the fact that there were no changes within your credit file.

There are no multiple plan options displayed anywhere on their website and the monthly fee of $19,99  could be more visible. Privacy Guard may be criticized for lack of transparency in this aspect. Moreover, the entire website could use an overall improvement in design and content. It looks empty, the most important information is difficult to find and it’s not properly highlighted and a first visit will most likely leave you puzzled or unsatisfied.  On the other hand, some users might find the single pricing plan less confusing since they don’t have to decide between several packages and offers, so it is all a matter of preferences.

Privacy Guard also offers a credit simulator, payoff calculator and an identity fraud support service.

The credit score simulator helps you figure out how certain changes in your payment habits can affect your credit score. The payoff calculator can also help you reduce your debts.

In addition to the credit monitoring services, Privacy Guard also provides identity theft protection. There is an entire section on their website dedicated to this service, with plenty of information on the dangers on ID theft, how they can protect you from it and how they can assist you in case you need to recover from identity theft. They offer an identity fraud scanning feature, which lets you know if there is any inquiry made on your credit and toll-free, 24/7, personalized support in case you need help to recover from ID theft. They also offer $1 million identity theft insurance.

Another advantage of using Privacy Guard is the fact that when you sign up with them you will get free antivirus software (Norton Internet Security Online) that keeps you protected from malware and other threats.

Pricing

If you are not sure about signing up you can go for their 14 days trial for just $1. After the trial period expires you will be charged with $19,99 /month until you cancel your membership.

Help/Support

Privacy Guard offers customer support by phone or email. There is no live chat option available.

Phone: 1-800-374-8273

Email: [email protected]

Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrivacyGuardofficial

However, they do offer toll-free 24/7 support, if you have any questions, concerns or you want to get help in case of ID theft. They also offer toll-free assistance for customers who wish to dispute any inaccuracies in their reports. The website also has a FAQ section and various articles on how to manage your credit, on credit scores and credit reports in general and on identity theft. There is also a section on Credit Education.

Rate this review!

CHECK PRICE

Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.

SEE ALTERNATIVES

MyFICO
MyFICO
Read Review
TrueCredit
TrueCredit
Read Review
Identity Force
Identity Force
Read Review

CHECK ALTERNATIVES

Credit Monitoring Our top picks

BEST IN CLASS
1
8.9
MyFICO
Read Review
BEST VALUE
2
8.7
TrueCredit
Read Review
RUNNER UP
3
8.4
Identity Force
Read Review
4
8.2
Privacy Guard
Read Review

SUBSCRIBE