How Healthy Is Your Credit?

All about the Big Three Credit Report Agencies

You may not realize it but there’s actually more than one credit report agency collecting information about your credit history. There are actually three credit report agencies that each provide their own version of a credit report and credit score. They collect their data independently of each other so your credit report and credit score can vary from one credit reporting agency to another.

While each of the three credit report agencies provide similar services and operate in a similar way, they are run independently, meaning if you find an error on your credit reports you will have to contact each of them individually to dispute it. Some lenders may even report to one agency and not another as they have no legal obligation to provide updated information to all three credit report agencies every month.

Experian

Experian offers a wide range of credit reporting services for both consumers and small businesses alike. They offer a wide range of services which includes:

Credit Reports - They provide access to your Experian credit report but they also allow you to see your credit report at all three credit report agencies.
Credit Score - Again they calculate your score independently but can also provide you with access to your credit score from all 3 bureaus.
Credit Monitoring / Identity Theft Protection - They also provide consumers and businesses credit monitoring which can be used to help stay on top of changes made to your credit report as well as prevent identity theft.
Check Your Contractor - Experian offers a unique way to run a quick background check on any potential contractor you may be interested in hiring.

Equifax

Equifax also offers many different credit related services for consumers and businesses which includes:

Credit Reports - You can also access your credit reports from all 3 credit reporting agencies at Equifax.
Credit Scores - Equifax calculates their own score and also provides you with access to your scores from the other reporting bureaus.
Credit Monitoring - They also offer credit monitoring with unique features such as credit score trending and $25,000 in ID Theft Insurance.

TransUnion

Like Experian and Equifax, TransUnion provides similar services which include:

Credit Reports - Like the other credit report agencies they also provide access to your 3 in 1 credit report from every major bureau.
Credit Score - TransUnion also calculates their own unique credit score as well as provides access to your credit scores from the other bureaus.
Credit Monitoring - They offer a credit monitoring package with features such as a debt analysis tool, credit score trending and 24/7 email alerts about any changes made to your credit report.

So What’s the Difference?

While all three credit report agencies may seem quite similar the biggest difference is that they operate independently of each other. They don’t typically share or exchange information so in order to get a complete overview of your credit history you will need to pull your credit report from each of the 3 bureaus. The only time they openly share information is when you put a fraud alert on your account which stops anyone from opening a new account in your name without speaking to you on the phone directly.

Add to:

Comments (0)

Name

E-mail (Will not appear online)

Homepage

Title

Comment

To prevent automated Bots form spamming, please enter the text you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.

3 Free Credit Scores
Daily Credit Monitoring and Alerts
Quarterly Credit Updates and Updated Scores
Protection Against Identity Theft and Fraud
7-Day Free Trial