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Credit Bureaus and Credit Reports
The MMI Online Articles are designed to inform, assist, educate and alert consumers.
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Credit reporting agencies exist to gather facts and present them in an organized fashion. They collect information reported to them by banks, mortgage companies, department stores and other creditors about your credit accounts and compile it into a credit report. They do not make lending decisions; their job is simply to provide the information that creditors need to make lending decisions. Here are the names and Internet addresses of the three major credit bureaus:
-Equifax www.equifax.com
-Experian www.experian.com
-Trans Union Corp www.transunion.com Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) - The purpose of this act is to insure that information contained in a credit report is accurate and that it will be used in a confidential manner. Consumers have a right to dispute information that may be derogatory of erroneous, inaccurate information must be corrected or deleted, and a consumer explanation statement of 100 words or less can also be included in the report. A credit bureau must also delete adverse information which is more than seven years old and information on bankruptcy which is more than ten years old.
The three major credit bureaus are separate entities. It is important to know this because the information in their reports may vary slightly. Different creditors use different reports (or a combination of them) to determine whether or not you are creditworthy.
Your creditworthiness matters most when you are trying to obtain credit. If your credit report indicates that you have maintained your credit well, you should have a good chance of receiving additional credit when needed, provided you have enough income to qualify for additional credit. On the other hand, if your report reflects a poor credit history, you may be denied credit or, if you do obtain credit, it will be costly.
Credit reports might also matter when renting an apartment, obtaining insurance or securing some types of employment. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dictates that credit information is accessible to others only for certain permissible purposes. For your protection, you are entitled by law to know who has received a copy of your report or inquired about it.
Your credit report contains identifying information such as your name, social security number, and date of birth. Of course, these things do not factor into lending decisions. In fact, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) assures that you cannot be discriminated against because of your age, sex, marital status, religion or because you receive public assistance income.
Public record information, such as bankruptcy or tax liens, appears on your report. Your credit report may also include information about your employment history. Obviously, your credit report includes information about your payment history. Criminal records do not appear. Information about your checking or savings accounts is not included on your credit report.
The FACT Act gives every consumer the right to a free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. To get your free report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 877-322-8228.
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