3 credit score reporting agencies know them
Credit reporting agencies, otherwise known as credit bureaus, will collect information that is relevant to your credit history and they may sell it to businesses. There are a number of credit reporting agencies in the United States with the three main agencies being Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Almost every lender and creditor will report their recorded information to one or all of these three credit score agencies.
The biggest and longest running credit bureau is Equifax who are located in Ireland. Experian's headquarters are also based in Ireland and started operating in the United States when it purchased TRW information Services in 1996. TransUnion is the third and the smallest of these three companies.
There is one thing that these three credit bureaus have in common and that is that they each maintain their own credit reports. These reports are compiled with the information received from creditors and lenders regarding consumer credit histories. This is the reason why credit reports are not always the same because each bureau will have different credit figures in their reports. Not all lenders and creditors submit their information to each bureau and as such reports may vary.
Each of the three big credit score bureaus also has their own credit score. Equifax and TransUnion calculate their scores using the FICO score algorithm while Experian uses its own scoring model software. The majority of people and businesses use the FICO scoring model with over 90% of financial institutions and banks using this model when checking a person's credit score.
You may wonder whether these three agencies have too much power, but in actual fact there is a federal law that protects consumers from unfair credit reporting business practices. This law is called the Fair Credit Reporting Act - FCRA - and is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
As part of the FCRA protection, consumers can request a free copy of their credit reports from the bureaus once per year. You can use the website AnnualCreditReport.com to request your credit report. However, the FCRA does not stipulate that the bureaus give your actual credit score so you do not have free access to that. You can view your credit score for a fee and you can on some occasions access your credit score through a promoting, usually if you purchase something else.
It is advisable to check your credit report regularly so that you can make sure that the information in your report is correct. By keeping an eye on your credit report you can better manage your finances and it also helps to prevent fraud which can be very damaging to your credit score. When you check your credit report you can also take steps to prevent your score from dropping if you know what your score is. There are many financial institutions, loan lenders and employers that will use credit scores to evaluate your risk so it is always recommended to know your score and keep it as high as possible.
By keeping your credit score high you are more likely to be approved for loans, mortgages or interest free payment plans, so your world is open to many opportunities for a better lifestyle. When a financial institution checks your credit score and sees that you are a high risk then your chance of being approved for a loan or any type of credit is quite low. So it is handy to know your credit score so you can keep an eye on it and keep it at a reasonable level. You can find out what your credit score is through any of the big three credit bureaus.
TAGS: credit score reporting agencies, credit reporting agencies, what are the 3 credit reporting agencies
Article Source: Messaggiamo.Com
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