How Healthy Is Your Credit?

Credit Report Companies for Consumers and Businesses

Years ago there were hundreds, if not thousands of different companies collecting information about your credit history. Today there are 3 major credit report companies that provide detailed credit reports as well as a credit score for consumers. Your credit score is basically a single number that basically sums up your creditworthiness. There are also other credit report companies that specialize in business credit reporting and third party companies which can provide you with your credit reports and scores as a reseller.

Big 3 Consumer Credit Report Companies

The big 3 consumer credit report companies are:

Experian
PO BOX 9556
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
Experian.com

Equifax
PO BOX 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-800-685-1111
Equifax.com

TransUnion
PO BOX 2000
Chester, PA 19022
1-800-916-8800
TransUnion.com

These are the credit report companies most commonly used by lenders, insurance companies and even employers to check up on the credit history of consumers. Each of these credit report companies provides their own unique credit report and credit score that they base on the information they have collected.

Because lenders aren’t legally obligated to report to any credit report companies sometimes your account details may be reported to only one credit report company, or none at all. The truth is it costs companies money to create entries on your credit report which is why utility and phone companies never report payments you’ve made on time, they will only report payments which are late.

In order to get a complete history of your credit you will need to get a credit report from each of the three major credit report companies. You can use the Annual Credit Report website to pull your credit reports for free once a year or use a credit monitoring service to gain unlimited access to your credit reports and scores online.

Business Credit Report Companies

The three big credit report companies that create credit reports for consumers also have reports available on millions of different businesses. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion all offer their own unique business credit reports which might feature information such as how likely a business is to fail in the next 12 months or how likely it is you will be repaid when extending credit to another business.

Aside from the three major credit report companies, a company named Dun & Bradstreet also provides credit reports for businesses. D&B specializes in collecting information for business credit reports and has even devised their own credit score for businesses that they call the Paydex. Business credit reports are typically much different than a consumers credit report and generally cost more to pull as well.

Third Party Credit Report Companies

There are also a number of third party companies which can provide you with your credit report and credit score online such as Credit.com. These companies are generally credit report and credit score resellers which provide you access to your 3 in 1 credit report and score with enrollment in their credit monitoring packages.

Third party credit report companies are well known for offering free trials of their credit monitoring products which provides you with a way to get your credit report and credit score for free or for a very low fee. Before signing up for any monitoring package it’s important to note how long the trial period is and how much it is going to cost you once the trial period is over.

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