A credit report is detailed account of the credit, employment and residence history of an individual used by a prospective lender to help determine creditworthiness. Credit reports also list any judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, or similar matters of public record entered against the individual.

    A credit report summarizes historical financial information collected to determine an individual's or an entity's credit worthiness; that is, the means and willingness to repay an indebtedness. Financial institutions utilize credit reports to gauge credit reputation, and thus determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the interest rate.

    When you apply for credit, a lender can request your credit history in the form of a Credit Report. Sometimes the individual applying for credit has to pay for this report. This report shows the lender whether you have been diligent in making all your debt payments over the last seven years.

    In the U.S. the three major credit reporting agencies are Trans Union Corp., Equifax and Experian (formerly TRW).

    TransUnion (full name Trans Union LLC) is one of the 'big three' credit reporting agencies in the United States. Like their main competitors, Experian and Equifax, they now market their credit reports directly to consumers, in addition to their core business of providing the reports to potential creditors.

    TransUnion was created in 1968 by Union Car Company as their holding company. Its credit business began with the purchase of Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC) in 1969. Today it operates 250 offices across the U.S. and in 24 countries world wide. It is based in Chicago, IL. TransUnion was a subsidiary of The Marmon Group until January 2004. It is now an independent, privately held company.

    Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) is one of the "big three" "credit reporting agencies". It rates private persons residing in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, Italy, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Like their main competitors, Experian, Trans Union, and The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation they now market their credit reports directly to consumers, in addition to their core business of providing the reports to potential creditors. Ù

    Experian - Experian North America's core business is providing consumer credit information to business' so that they can in turn extend credit to consumers. It is one of the 'big three' credit reporting agencies in the United States. Like its main competitors, Trans Union and Equifax, it has also begun marketing credit reports directly to consumers. Its databases contain credit information on 215 million consumers in the U.S. Experian acquired its credit reporting business from TRW in 1995 and it now employs approximately 4500 people in North America. Its annual sales exceed $1.3 billion. In addition to providing credit reports, it maintains a database of over 450 million vehicles containing title and registration data from North American governments and provides address information for more than 20 billion promotional mail pieces to more than 100 million households every year.

    Experian - U.S. Credit Reporting - Experian's credit reporting business, like the other major credit reporting bureaus, is chiefly regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act signed into law on December 1, 2003 amended the FCRA to require the credit reporting companies to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report per 12 month period.

What if my Credit report contains errors?
How can I fix errors on my credit report?

    Often a bad credit rating (or low credit score) is due mainly to erroneous entries being reported in a person's credit history and collected and presented in his or her credit report. Major studies have found that up to 46% of individual credit reports contain errors which can impact a person's credit rating. Credit report errors can be fixed using the protections provided in law and regulation, mainly through the "dispute process." The process used to improve your credit score is often termed "credit repair." It is worth noting that an individual can repair their credit all on their own, but many hire credit repair firms or credit repair professionals to do the process for them.

    Important note: A credit repair campaign should be used to improve creditworthiness only when credit has been damaged due to incorrect or misleading information in a credit report. Credit repair usually cannot fix the effects of poor credit habits. To improve a credit rating damaged by poor credit habits, the best solution is often the most difficult one: you must change your bad habits. While this can be challenging, it is the simplest and most effective long term solutions to improve your credit score, your credit report, and your credit rating. Repaying outstanding best will unquestionably improve one's credit.

    If you have errors on your credit report and want to start a credit repair campaign, first obtain copies of your credit reports and then follow the process for formally disputing erroneous or misleading information there found on your various credit reports. For more information on the credit repair process - visit our Credit Repair Page.

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