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The Big Three Credit Bureaus

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There are three companies that compile credit reports on consumers: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These companies then sell this information to financial institutions to use in their loan decision making process. The credit bureaus or consumer reporting agencies are actual corporations with no government connection. The information they collect is sold to finance companies, banks, etc. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandates that the credit bureaus verify the accuracy of the information they collect. If a consumer disputes information in their file the bureaus are required to conduct a reasonable investigation and correct the errors. The information in your credit report is provided by credit card companies, mortgage companies, auto finance companies, and many other credit providers. All three major credit bureaus have a different name for their credit score. Equifax is called "Beacon", TransUnion is called "Empirica", and Experian is called "Experian/FICO Risk Model".

Credit report & score from all 3 National Bureaus

ONLY: $47.85

Most consumers do not realize that the credit scores from the big 3 CRA's are different. Your score can vary greatly between them. Experian sells the "PLUS" score, TransUnion sells the "TrueCredit" score, and Equifax sells the "FICO score". The FICO score is the industry standard for the mortgage industry and many other finance companies. You've probably heard of the FICO score but not the others. This is because Fair Issac Corporation pioneered credit reporting and scoring decades ago. Thus, they got an early lead over the other agencies and became the industry standard. In spite of this, the big 3 CRA's compete heavily and with the exception of the mortgage industry you never know which agencies a particular finance company will use to run your credit. Some lenders will even pull the score from all three and use the middle score or the average score when considering your for a loan.

Studies have indicated that 20% - 30% of consumers will have scores that range 50 points different between the three credit bureaus.

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If you think the credit bureaus are like 'big brother' then you should research a company called ChoicePoint. They are very scary. They compile databases on driving records, insurance claims, and even people's DNA. 1984 ! Farenheight 411 !

Posted by Nancy Lenord on 9/28/06, 10:10 AM

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