Three Major Credit Bureaus
What up, family? This is your boy, Ivan Hall, the Credit King. You may be familiar with the three major credit bureaus;
1. Experian
2. Equifax
3. Transunion
But you may not be aware that there are more credit reporting organizations that can influence your lender approval odds and interest rates. There’s more to keeping track of your credit than just checking with the three major bureaus. there are also smaller companies you may not be familiar with such as ChexSystems, MicroBilt, PRBC, and Clarity Services that lenders use to get information about you.
Various Credit Reporting Agencies
Let’s take a look at the various credit reporting agencies that exist the big players Transunion Equifax and Experian. you likely already know about these they compile data on your credit history and give lenders reports that help them determine the amount of risk you present for a loan. the information in these reports includes your name and address social security number account balances payment history credit inquiries collection amounts civil judgments and bankruptcies.
Other Consumer Reporting Firms
Depending on the situation smaller companies may be used to help lenders determine risk. The following companies offer alternative reports these include SageStream, Innovis, MicroBilt, PRBC, CoreLogic Credco. These companies focus on specialized or supplemental data that can help lenders make decisions. LexisNexis Risk Solutions collects information found in public records and from harder-to-find sources such as professional license info and data pertaining to real estate transactions. As of 2012, there were 400 credit reporting agencies in the united states. They consist of a wide variety of companies that shed light on different financial services and products, such as payday loans and checking accounts.
why do so many small consumer reporting companies exist?
Credit makes the business world turn. Think of all the loans you may have applied for over the years. A car loan, a home loan, student loans, or applying to rent an apartment or get a cell phone. Lenders need as much information as possible to determine their level of risk. For this, they turn to companies collecting more niche information.
One example is Microbuilt, PRBC, which helps lenders get information on applicants with very little credit history. This is known in the industry as a thin file.
Why you may want to use a specific bureau to check your credit.?
In some cases, you may want to check specific information before applying for credit. If you’re able to check with your lender and ask which bureaus it sources its information from so you can make sure to correct any errors before applying. This is important because different lenders report to different bureaus which means that any given credit report may have different sources leading to different scores.
How to get your information from consumer reporting agencies.?
As of 2018 credit reporting companies are required to provide you with a copy of your report for not more than 12 Dollars. Each of the three major bureaus Transunion, Experian, and Equifax are required to give you one free report every 12 months upon request. To get a report contact the company in question and ask how you can purchase one or get a copy for free. If adverse action is taken against you because of information on a certain company’s report you are entitled to a free copy of that report, if you are denied alone you should get something called an Adverse Action Notice, this contains the reason you are denied which company they got their information from and how to get your report from them.
How to get your credit scores.?
If you would like your scores for free you can get them from almost any major lender or bank. Transunion and Equifax offer vantage score credit scores for free through websites like creditkarma.com. City, Chase, Discover, and Capital One all offer credit score programs with free access to credit scores. If you would like a specific score such as Vantage Score 4.0 or Fico to score 8 you can check with each individual credit scoring model company. The big three bureaus typically offer your credit report along with your fico score for a fee of around $20 Dollars.
What can you do with this information;
Any and all information you can collect on your credit score can help you improve it if your score is already healthy then there is nothing to worry about it’s still important about the varied sources of information lenders turn to when making a decision and it can help you when applying for a loan. Learn how the credit bureaus work and go get that money.
For more informative information on Credit Repair and Credit Enhancement tips visit us online at TheCredit-King.com