Credit Report FAQs
What is a credit report?
Credit reports refer to the formalized evaluation of a consumer's history of borrowing and repayment as prepared by an independent company in a brief document meant to help lenders determine credit viability. The three credit reporting agencies who act as private clearing houses for the public exchange of past credit histories will have a file on anyone who has ever even applied for a loan and attach all legally valid information to the borrower's social security number. The credit report will trace what happens to secured (home mortgages, vesicle loans) and unsecured (credit card debt) transactions by means of data volunteered by the lender. A three digit score known as a FICO Beacon score will then be calculated based upon such information.
How can I get a copy of my credit report?
Due to recent legislation, every resident of the United States is owed one free copy per year of their credit report from each agency to be mailed or electronically transmitted at the company's expense. Using a home computer or a public library desktop model, log on separately to each credit bureau website and verify your address and social security number. You should then receive the credit report instantaneously over the internet. If you prefer, a copy could be mailed within less than ten business days. Although consumers now almost universally employ the credit bureau web sites for reasons of speed and convenience, the credit bureaus also have toll free numbers answered by patient representatives so that senior citizens or other Americans less comfortable with internet documentation could place a telephone call or even hand write a letter and send that through the post.
What's the contact information for these credit bureaus?
Equifax PO Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374 (800)685.1111
www.equifax.com
TransUnion PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022 (800)888.4213
www.transunion.com
Experian PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013 (888)397.3742
www.experian.com
Do I really need all three credit reports?
Yes, you do. Repeated studies have shown that the occurrence of errors of data entry or misidentification continues to bedevil the credit reporting agencies. Unfortunately, the governmental regulations currently in place to protect ordinary consumers still require the borrowers themselves to annually go through their own credit reports in order to pinpoint unfamiliar liens or credit card debt accounts wrongly listed as unpaid. Also, even if the credit bureaus have done their work correctly and the credit reports all list the important financial criteria identically, men and women with substantial credit card debt will almost always see small fluctuations in FICO scores. In fact, this happens to Beacon scores so frequently that it's become common practice for loan officers and underwriters handling substantial credit card debt consolidations or mortgage equity loans to ignore the lowest and highest numbers and instead use only what's termed the mid score for credit approval.
If they have access to the same information, why wouldn't all three of the bureaus show the same scores?
There are minor distinctions in the way that Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have each independently chosen to tabulate the many, many details that will necessarily comprise an individual's borrowing history. Since every single credit card debt payment for a succession of years, whether prompt or tardy, has be accounted for within a printed document that must also be easily surveyable for lender analysis, it stands to reason that variances would appear among the different companies, and the FICO model of credit ratings would nudge up or down by a few points as a result.
