Credit Report Agencies - A Brief History Of The Three Majors

Who are the Credit Report Agencies?

There are three major Credit Report Agencies collecting financial information on consumers from various sources. Almost any time a consumer applies for a credit card, fills out an application for an auto or boat loan or borrows money from the bank to buy a house, the Credit Report Agencies document the credit activity. The information these Credit Report Agencies gather on a particular consumer goes into their credit report. The credit report is a tool lenders and creditors use to judge a consumer's credit worthiness. The Credit Report Agencies must abide by the the Fair Credit Reporting Act when gathering and releasing a consumer's financial information.

Exquifax is the largest and the oldest of the three major Credit Report Agencies. Equifax was founded in 1899 as the Retail Credit Company.  The company had expanded its operations through the U.S. and Canada by 1920. The Retail Credit Company had amassed the personal credit information of more than 1 million Americans and Canadians by 1960. The Retail Credit Company re-branded itself in 1975, changing its name to Equifax.  Today, Equifax  provides demographic information, credit reports, analytics, and software to businesses around the world.

Experian employs more than 15,000 people worldwide. The Dublin-based company has offices in 36 countries. Experian also has operational headquarters in Nottingham, England, and Costa Mesa, California.  The company was founded as CNN Systems in 1980. Experian is the youngest of the three major Credit Report Agencies; it is also the second largest. The popular credit report website freecreditreport.com is owned by Experian. They sell credit monitoring services and credit reports online to consumers. However, consumers are entitled to a free credit report every year. Consumers can get a copy of their credit report at annualcreditreport.com

TransUnion is the third largest of the three major Credit Report Agencies. It was founded by Union Tank Car Company in 1968. Today, the Chicago-based credit bureau has more than 250 offices in the United States and in 24 countries.

When consumers apply for credit cards and loans, generally that activity can be reported by Credit Report Agencies. Lenders, property mangers, credit card companies, collection agencies and insurance carriers  can review a consumer's credit history by requesting their credit reports. A credit report says a lot about how a consumer handles their money. The information contained in the credit report can give lenders a risk assessment when considering loaning money to a consumer. A large debt load, a poor payment history, and low credit score are indicators that a consumer may not be able to pay back the loan.

Almost any time a consumer applies for a credit card or a home loan, the lender may obtain the consumer's credit report by requesting it from any of the Credit Report Agencies.

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