What are the 3 Major Credit Bureaus?

Credit can be difficult to understand fully. Gaining a clearer understanding of your specific situation starts with knowing where to get an accurate credit report. When you utilize the three major credit bureaus that lenders look at, you are better equipped to plan for your financial future. 

At Sharmin and Sharmin, we want our clients to feel empowered to make the most educated decision possible. While a reputable Florida credit card fraud lawyer provides your best chance of escaping with minimal losses, you should feel confident in the decisions you’re making in your representation and the path forward. 

Understanding Credit 

To fully understand credit reporting agencies, it is first important to understand what a credit report is and how it differs from a credit score. Ultimately, the information contained in your credit report informs your overall credit score and serves as a general indicator of overall financial behavior.

Separate entities from the reporting bureaus calculate your credit score. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reports that your credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior. This number ranges from 300-850 and is calculated based on a number of factors that may also appear on your credit report, including:

• Your payment history for bills
• Accounts sent to collections
• Bankruptcy
• Debt to credit ratio
• Revolving use of your available credit

Credit Report

Your credit report, however, comes from credit reporting agencies that pull information about you and send it to interested parties upon request. Much of the information that informs your credit score is what you see on your credit report. Additional information that you may see on your credit report may include:

• Open lines of credit
• Overall debt amount 
• Your lawsuit history
• Name of creditors

Checking your credit report at least annually is a crucial step to protect yourself against identity or credit car theft. When you regularly check your credit report, you can catch any errors or discrepancies that may tip you off to a more significant issue. You can pull your report from all three credit reporting bureaus by going to annualcreditreport.com, the only website with federal authorization to provide free credit reports from all three bureaus. 

Major Credit Bureaus

A credit bureau or credit reporting agency is an agency that collects your information and prepares consumer reports. You have a right to view any information about you on these consumer reports. You can find a complete list of consumer reporting companies to follow up with. However, there are three big ones to check in with at least annually:

• Transunion
• Equifax
• Experian

The above agencies are the most widely used, and all of them provide options to view your credit report and allow you to have easy, ongoing monitoring of your report. You can often view your credit score through these websites, even though they are not typically present on the credit report itself. All three of these agencies are comparable in terms of importance and accuracy. Reviewing your report from each bureau is essential, and while it is typically accurate, there is always a chance of error from either one.

How do the Credit Bureaus Get My Information?

The means of collection for the credit bureaus can vary. Sometimes, they can access information on things like wage garnishments or liens through public records. Other times, the information is sent to them by financial entities. Some of those entities may consist of:

• Banks and credit unions
• Mortgage and auto lenders
• Debt collectors
• Apple Pay later loans

The type of information collected and the person or entity collecting it is subject to do so in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This legislation specifies the parties authorized to pull your credit and the reasons for doing so. This is in part to ensure that your information is handled fairly and appropriately and that those pulling your credit report are receiving relevant and accurate information. 

Who Has Access to Your Credit Report?

There are many reasons someone may obtain a credit report, including financial lenders or property owners, potential employers, or even insurance companies in some cases. This is typically done to check your eligibility for things such as:

• A line of credit
• Loans 
• Rental property leases
• Employment 
• Insurance policies

In most instances, an entity will need your permission to pull your credit report. However, there are instances where your permission may not be required. According to Experian, your credit may be pulled in a ‘soft pull’ by companies for things like preapproval offers for credit card companies. These do not affect your credit.

How Does Pulling my Credit Report Affect my Credit?

When considering how checking your credit from Experian, Equifax, or Transunion may affect your credit score, this depends on what type of pull it is. Each of the three agencies recognizes a hard inquiry and a soft inquiry. A hard inquiry is typically in relation to an application for a new line of credit, and a soft inquiry is unrelated to a specific action but may be for preapproval or just when you check your report. 

Addressing Errors with Credit Bureaus

While the reports should be accurate most of the time, if you do happen to spot an error with any of the three reporting bureaus, your first step would be to contact the reporting bureau and the institution that reported it to address the concern. The reporting bureau can only report the information provided, so you want to ensure the information is correct on both sides. 

Submitting a complaint with Experian, Equifax, and Transunion can be done online or through mail. The Federal Trade Commission reports that the agencies have 30 days to respond to your request and begin to investigate. If they determine the request or concern to be unfounded, they may choose to stop investigating but must notify you. 

Errors on your credit report could be an innocuous administrative mistake or indicative of something more nefarious. If you suspect foul play, speaking with a Florida credit card fraud or identity theft attorney may be a smart move. Contacting an attorney means you have support to protect your rights in restoring and resolving any issues relating to identity theft and fraudulent charges.