By Alexander Flores, Debt Buyer & Triton Financial Solutions, LLC · Level 2: Intermediate · Last updated: October 28, 2026
Every charged-off portfolio has a share of accounts with a stale address, a disconnected phone, or both. Before a buyer or agency can work those accounts, someone has to find the consumer, and do it inside the rules. That is skip tracing, and three names come up constantly when collectors compare tools: TransUnion’s TLOxp, MicroBilt and IDI’s idiCORE.
This is not a “best skip tracing tool” list. We don’t rank vendors, and we don’t publish prices or features a vendor hasn’t published itself. Instead, we line up what each company says on its own website about access, data, delivery, pricing and compliance, then explain the legal framework every collector has to work within no matter which tool they pick. Every vendor page and statute below was checked live on October 28, 2026.
What is skip tracing in debt collection?
Skip tracing is the process of locating a consumer whose contact information on file is outdated, usually by searching public, proprietary and credit-header data for current addresses, phones and employers. Collectors use it to reach the right party lawfully.
For a debt buyer, skip tracing is not a side task. Contact rates drive liquidation, and liquidation drives what you can pay for a file. We cover how skip status affects charged-off paper, and what to ask about it before you bid, in our Skip Tracing for Debt Buyers guide. This article focuses on the tools.
How do TLOxp, MicroBilt and idiCORE compare at a glance?
All three offer online search, batch processing and API access for collections. They differ in data descriptions, credentialing for sensitive products, and how openly they publish pricing. TransUnion and IDI say their services aren’t consumer reports.
| TLOxp (TransUnion) | MicroBilt | idiCORE (IDI) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | TransUnion Risk and Alternative Data Solutions, Inc.; the skip tracing page now uses the TruLookup name | MicroBilt | Interactive Data, LLC (“IDI”) |
| Collections focus on vendor site | First-party and third-party collections pages; right-party contact products | Collections/Legal industry page listing skip, phone, address, employment and bank locator products | Collections and Recovery industry page; debt and asset recovery use case |
| How it describes its data | 10,000+ public and proprietary data sources; 100B+ records (per a 2021 TransUnion internal analysis) | Enhanced People Search draws on public records, 960M+ phone numbers, credit bureau header files and alternative credit data | Proprietary, public record and publicly available data covering “nearly 100%” of U.S. adults |
| Delivery options | Online, batch, API | Web based, batch, API (Enhanced People Search) | Online interface, API, batch, mobile app |
| Access requirements | Credentialing: application, business records review and, as applicable, a site inspection | Sensitive APIs (Enhanced People Search, Trace Detail) need an extra level of credentialing | Not detailed on the pages we reviewed; contact or trial request |
| Published pricing | Not published on the pages we reviewed | Developer API ranges published (e.g., Locate People APIs 15¢–23¢ per call); credentialed products priced on request | Pricing models named (seat, per-hit, flat-rate); no rates published |
| FCRA position (vendor’s own words) | Not a consumer reporting agency; not a consumer report | Footer: consumer credit reports must be used for permissible purposes only | Not a consumer reporting agency; services are not consumer reports |
Sources: each vendor’s own pages, listed at the end, checked October 28, 2026. “Not published” means we didn’t find it on the vendor’s public pages, not that it doesn’t exist.
What does TLOxp offer collectors?
TLOxp is TransUnion’s investigations and skip tracing platform, now sold under the TruLookup brand. TransUnion says it draws on 10,000+ public and proprietary sources, maps relatives and associates, and delivers through online, batch or API.
On its skip tracing page, TransUnion says its tools are designed for collection agents, investigators, attorneys, process servers, repossession agents and others, and lists:
- Results “from 10,000 public and proprietary data sources.”
- Relationship mapping across relatives, associates, shared assets, phones and properties.
- “Multi-sourced phone numbers, ranked by activity,” pitched at right-party contact (RPC).
- Scale figures of 100B+ records, 11B unique name and address combinations and 4B phone records, footnoted to a 2021 TransUnion internal analysis.
Its collections page splits first-party and third-party use, and for agencies mentions scrubbing inventory, identifying accounts more likely to pay and right-party contact.
Access is not instant. TransUnion’s TLO terms and conditions say access depends on credentialing, “including completing a business application… review of Subscriber’s business records and information, and, as applicable, a physical inspection of Subscriber’s business premises.” The same terms state that TransUnion Risk and Alternative Data Solutions “is not a ‘consumer reporting agency,'” and its services may not be used to decide eligibility for credit, insurance, housing or employment.
What we’d note as buyers: plan for the credentialing timeline before your first file closes, not after. If a site inspection applies, your office, data security and written policies need to be ready.
What does MicroBilt offer collectors?
MicroBilt lists Enhanced People Search, Super Phone Search, address search, Trace Detail, bank and employment locators for collections, plus a collectability score called Smart Trac, with web, batch and API delivery.
According to MicroBilt’s Enhanced People Search page, the report queries “millions of public records, including over 960 million registered land and wireless phone numbers, Credit Bureau Header files, and proprietary alternative consumer credit data.” It lists name and aliases, date of birth, SSN validation, current and prior addresses, phone status and carrier, and Death Master File verification. It is available “Web Based,” by batch and by API.
Two things stand out for collections teams:
- Account segmentation. Smart Trac is described as an “ability to pay” collectability score using 135 attributes from traditional and non-traditional data, returning results on “95%+ of submitted consumers,” per MicroBilt.
- Published API pricing. MicroBilt’s developer Plans & Pricing page lists per-call ranges by volume tier, such as 15¢ to 23¢ for Locate People APIs and 26¢ to $5.53 for Public Records APIs. It also says a subset of APIs “contain sensitive and regulated data which requires a deeper level of credentialing,” priced on request.
The Locate People developer page is specific: “Due to Federal regulation,” Enhanced People Search, Trace Detail and Driver’s License Search “require an additional level of credentialing.” In other words, the low published per-call prices apply to the standard locate APIs, not automatically to the deeper skip products. Budget accordingly.
What does idiCORE offer collectors?
idiCORE is IDI’s identity intelligence platform. IDI says its data covers nearly 100% of U.S. adults, monitors daily changes, and offers online, API, batch and mobile access, with collections-specific scrubs and seat, per-hit or flat-rate pricing.
From IDI’s idiCORE page and Collections and Recovery page, the collections-relevant points are:
- A data repository “consisting of proprietary, public record, and publicly-available data covering nearly 100% of the U.S. adult population.”
- Daily monitoring of data attributes, “including deceased and bankruptcy records.”
- On-demand data including “Active Duty Status, Cell Phone Suppression Scrub, and FDCPA Litigant Scrub.”
- “Flexible pricing solutions including seat, per-hit, and flat-rate.”
- Security certifications listed as SOC 2 Type 2, PCI DSS Level 1 and ISO 27001.
- A separate service that “blends proprietary data sources and sophisticated manual verification” to locate bank and employment information for judgment recovery.
IDI’s site footer states that IDI “is not a ‘consumer reporting agency,'” and that its services may not be used as a factor in eligibility for credit, insurance, employment or other FCRA purposes. Account-opening requirements weren’t spelled out on the pages we reviewed, so ask about credentialing during the trial request.
Which laws govern skip tracing data?
Four sets of rules matter most: the FDCPA and Regulation F on contacting third parties for location information, the FCRA on consumer reports, the GLBA on financial-institution data, and the DPPA on motor vehicle records.
| Rule | What it controls | Key text |
|---|---|---|
| FDCPA §804, 15 U.S.C. 1692b; Reg F 12 CFR 1006.10 | Calls and letters to third parties to find the consumer | Collector must identify themselves, “not state that such consumer owes any debt,” and generally contact each person only once |
| FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681b | Pulling a consumer report | Permitted for “review or collection of an account of” the consumer |
| GLBA, 15 U.S.C. 6802(e) | Nonpublic personal information from financial institutions | Exceptions include uses “necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a transaction” and secondary market sales |
| DPPA, 18 U.S.C. 2721(b) | Motor vehicle record data | Permits use for “recovering on a debt or security interest” in the normal course of business, and for court proceedings including enforcement of judgments |
Vendors pass these rules down to you. TransUnion’s TLO terms, for example, require subscribers receiving GLBA or DPPA data to certify a permitted use from those statutes. The certification is yours, and so is the audit trail.
How should a collector choose a skip tracing vendor?
Match the vendor to your workflow: volume and delivery method, the products that need extra credentialing, the pricing model that fits your account mix, and the compliance scrubs you need. Then test on your own accounts.
A practical checklist we’d use before signing:
- Credentialing first. Ask exactly what the vendor requires (license copies, site inspection, security questionnaire) and how long it takes. Line it up with your licensing work; our guide on how to start a collection agency covers that side.
- Run a blind test. Send the same sample of skips to each vendor you are evaluating and measure right-party contacts, not just “hits.” A returned phone isn’t a working phone.
- Price per result, not per search. Seat, per-hit, flat-rate and per-call tiers behave very differently on a 5,000-account file versus a 500,000-account file.
- Check the scrubs. Deceased, bankruptcy, active-duty (SCRA) and litigious-consumer flags reduce risk before the first call. Confirm which ones each vendor includes and at what cost.
- Confirm delivery fits your CRM. Batch file formats and API fields should map cleanly into your system of record. See our collection CRM resources.
- Write the permissible-use certification into your policies. Document which purpose applies to each search type, keep logs, and train collectors on third-party location calls under Regulation F.
- Re-test yearly. Data coverage changes. A tool that worked on one asset class or vintage may not work as well on another.
Many shops use more than one vendor, running a second pass on accounts the first didn’t resolve. Whether that pays depends on your account balances and the cost per result.
Does skip tracing affect what a debt portfolio is worth?
Yes. Buyers price expected liquidation, and contact rates feed directly into it. A file with recent, verified contact data and clear skip history usually draws more confidence than one where every account needs tracing from scratch.
For sellers, this is practical. Note on the data tape whether accounts were skip traced, when and by what method, and flag deceased, bankrupt and active-duty accounts before marketing. For buyers, ask those questions during diligence and price the skip cost into your bid. Our DebtHub buyer tools and the wider DebtHub collect related checklists.
DebtMarket, the confidential debt brokerage desk of Triton Financial Solutions, LLC, takes portfolios NDA-first to 200+ qualified buyers, with no public auction. When a file is complete, closings typically take 1-14 days. Creditors can start at /sellers/, and qualified buyers can review working files under NDA at /buyers/. We are a marketplace and broker, not a collection agency.
What did we not cover?
We didn’t rank vendors or test their data ourselves for this article, and we didn’t cover every provider. Other providers may get their own equally neutral reviews later.
Contract pricing, minimums and credentialing timelines vary by customer and aren’t fully published, so treat the table above as a starting point for vendor calls, not a quote.
Key takeaways
- TLOxp, MicroBilt and idiCORE all offer online, batch and API skip tracing for collections.
- TLOxp access requires credentialing and may include a site inspection; MicroBilt requires extra credentialing for Enhanced People Search and Trace Detail.
- MicroBilt publishes developer API price ranges and IDI names its pricing models. None of the three publishes full contract pricing on the pages we reviewed.
- TransUnion and IDI both say their services are not consumer reports under the FCRA.
- The FDCPA, Reg F, FCRA, GLBA and DPPA apply whichever tool you choose, and the permitted-use certification is yours.
Related reading on DebtMarket
- Skip Tracing for Debt Buyers: Data, Vendors & FCRA
- FDCPA Compliance Guide
- How to Start a Collection Agency in 2026
Sources (each checked live on October 28, 2026)
- TransUnion, TruLookup Skip Tracing (TLOxp).
- TransUnion, Collections.
- TransUnion, TLO Terms and Conditions.
- MicroBilt, Enhanced People Search.
- MicroBilt, Smart Trac.
- MicroBilt Developer Portal, Plans & Pricing and Locate People.
- IDI, idiCORE and Collections and Recovery.
- FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. 1692b (Cornell LII); CFPB, Regulation F, 12 CFR 1006.10.
- FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681b; GLBA, 15 U.S.C. 6802; DPPA, 18 U.S.C. 2721 (Cornell LII).
This article is general industry information based on each vendor’s public materials as of the date above. It is not legal advice or an endorsement of any vendor. TLOxp, TruLookup, MicroBilt, Smart Trac, idiCORE and IDI are trademarks of their respective owners.