Site Directory:
Tuesday, 12 September 2006
Learn the
facts
about online credit reports...
Are online credit reports ever really free?
Yes. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the nationwide top 3 consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months - you simply have to request that they provide it to you!
You can order your free credit report from
any of the three nationwide consumer reporting
companies via the following...
1) Visit
www.annualcreditreport.com
2) Call 1-877-322-8228
3) Or complete the
Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report
Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Note:
Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies
individually. They are providing free annual credit reports only through the
above channels.
You can order your free credit reports from each of these nationwide credit
reporting companies individually, or you can order your reports all at the same time
- for free - every 12 months.
About Credit Report Agencies*
Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) are entities that collect and disseminate information about consumers to be used for credit evaluation and certain other purposes. They hold the databases which are the origins of a consumer's credit report. have a number of responsibilities under FCRA:
Equifax:
Currently based in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax
was founded in 1899 as Retail Credit Company.
In 2006, Equifax had $1.3 billion in annual revenue and 4,400 employees in
12 countries.
Like their main competitors, Experian, Trans Union, and The Dun & Bradstreet
Corporation they now market their credit reports directly to consumers, in
addition to their core business of providing the reports to potential
creditors.
TransUnion:
TransUnion (full name Trans Union LLC) is one
of the "big three" credit reporting agencies in the United States. Like
their main competitors, Experian and Equifax, they now market their credit
reports directly to consumers, in addition to their core business of
providing the reports to potential creditors.
TransUnion was created in 1968 by Union Car Company as their holding
company. Its credit business began with the purchase of Credit Bureau of
Cook County (CBCC) in 1969. Today it operates 250 offices across the U.S.
and in 24 countries worldwide. It is based in Chicago, Illinois.
TransUnion was a subsidiary of The Marmon Group until January 2004. It is
now an independent, privately held company.
Experian:
Experian North America's core business is
providing consumer credit information to businesses so that they can in turn
extend credit to consumers. It is one of the 'big three' credit reporting
agencies in the United States. Like its main competitors, Trans Union and
Equifax, it has also begun marketing credit reports directly to consumers
through its subsidiary Free Credit Report.com. Its databases contain credit
information on 215 million consumers in the U.S.
Experian acquired its credit reporting business from TRW in 1995, and it now
employs approximately 4500 people in North America. Its annual sales exceed
$1.3 billion.
In addition to providing credit reports, it maintains a database of over 450
million vehicles containing title and registration data from North American
governments and provides address information for more than 20 billion
promotional mail pieces to more than 100 million households every year.
Experian handles its credit disputes in its "National Consumer Assistance
Center" (NCAC) in Allen, Texas. It is frequently sued for violating the
Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and uses the large national law
firm of Jones Day to defend these lawsuits. Its litigation and settlement
decisions are made by its in-house attorneys based in California.
