What Are the Three Free Credit Reports Available?

Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three national credit reporting agencies that prepare consumer credit reports in the United States. Under federal law, you are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of these agencies. However, the reports you receive just contain your credit history and do not include your actual credit scores

Credit Report

Credit reporting agencies gather information on consumers from public records as well as collecting information from finance companies and banks. The reporting agencies keep track of your active credit accounts and maintain records that show your account balances as well as your payment history. Details of bankruptcies, foreclosures and other delinquent debts are also listed on your credit report. The reporting agencies use your name, Social Security number and date of birth to match newly gathered data to your report.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides consumers in the United States with the opportunity to ensure that their credit reports contain accurate information. Negative credit events have a damaging effect on your credit score and can cause lenders to deny you credit. You should notify credit bureaus of any errors in your report; and if necessary, provide the bureau with supporting documentation. Credit bureaus are required to make necessary corrections to your report although this process can take upwards of 45 days.

Differences

Creditors are not required to file reports with the credit bureaus and it actually costs creditors a fee to submit a report. To save money, some creditors only submit files to one credit bureau. As a result, your three credit reports may contain entirely different information. Each credit bureau also has its own system for determining your credit score although all three firms use a system where high scores reflect good credit and low scores are bad. You can pay a fee to obtain you credit score from each of the credit bureaus when you request your annual report.

Other Considerations

Your credit report changes on a monthly basis as your creditors provide the credit bureaus with new information. You can pay for credit monitoring services that provide you with updated credit information on a monthly basis. Additionally, if a creditor denies your application for credit on the basis of information contained on your credit report, then you are generally entitled to contact the bureau that provided the report within 60 days and request a free copy of it. You can get this report in addition to the free annual report. You can then submit a request to make a correction if you find that inaccurate information on the report caused your loan to be declined.