Names of credit bureaus
Many of us do not even know names of credit bureaus or much about how they really work. Yet these powerful and mysterious organizations have great power over our happiness and reputations.
The credit bureaus are also known as "credit reporting agencies".
Legally under the Federal law that regulates them, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the credit bureaus are technically termed "consumer reporting agencies".
What are credit bureaus?
These are commercial companies who collect a vast storehouse of information on the credit history of every consumer who participates in the credit system.
Credit card companies and other lenders provide credit payment and related details to the credit bureaus about their customers. These same credit providers also contact the credit bureaus to obtain information about consumers in order to estimate whether or not an individual is a good credit risk.
It is this information about each individual consumer's credit history and credit risk profile that is the valuable final product of the credit bureaus.
In America, the names of credit bureaus you need to know about are:
1. Equifax Inc, known as Equifax and based in Atlanta, Georgia. Equifax contact information ise easily available.
Click for Equifax phone number.
You can also
click for the address for Equifax.
Click for Equifax Business Credit Report.
2. Experian plc, known as Experian, with global corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and US national headquarters in Costa Mesa, California.
Submitting an Experian Dispute Letter.
3. TransUnion LLC, known as TransUnion and based in Chicago, Illinois.
Click for TransUnion phone number.
See all three credit bureaus addresses.
Sometimes people think that "Beacon" or "FICO" are credit reporing agencies as well. However, "Beacon" is simply the Equifax brand name for a FICO score. And what is "FICO"? It is the credit scoring algorithm used to calculate credit scores and it gets the name as an abbreviation of Fair Isaac Corporation - the company that developed the credit scoring algorithm.
The credit score is calculated slightly differently by Equifax, Experian and TranUnion, but they all use the same FICO formula. The score is like a nummerical summary of all the information in your credit report and it tells lenders how big a credit risk someone is, based on that person's past credit behavior.
Find out more about
names of credit bureaus
and the functions of credit bureaus, the laws that regulate them, and the controversies surrounding them from Wikipedia.
You can also check out the Federal Government's Consumer Action Handbook on
Credit Bureaus and Credit Scoring.
Ideally, as a consumer you will make sure you educate yourself about more than just credit bureau names, and ensure you understand all the details of the credit scoring system!
The Average U.S. Credit Score: 692. The cost to see yours: $0.
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