The "Big 3" Credit Reporting Agencies

The Credit Reporting Agencies

The credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Equifax and Experian (formerly TRW) are the three recognized national credit reporting agencies that keep records on consumers.  CSC Credit Services, is an affiliate (independently owned) of Equifax and provides the credit reporting services for them in 15 Midwestern and Central states.
The reporting agencies collect information about you and your credit history from public records, your creditors and other reliable sources. These agencies make your credit history available to your current and prospective creditors and employers as allowed by law. Credit agencies do not grant or deny credit.

This report is based on files held by these so-called “Big Three” credit bureaus, which are also referred to as the “national repositories.” There are numerous other local credit bureaus. These either sell their data to or license their data to these national repositories. When a consumer credit decision is made in the United States, even if the creditor initially contacts a local bureau, information from one or more of the repositories is generally used. There are also numerous specialty credit bureaus, some affiliated with the repositories, others affiliated with other companies. For example, the Medical Information Bureau collects information about insurance claims history. Tenant screening bureaus work on behalf of landlords. CLUE, a division of the Equifax spin-off Choicepoint, is an auto and home insurance rating bureau. Numerous check verification and guarantee bureaus also exist. One distinction is that many of the specialty bureaus only collect and sell negative information, while the national repositories report on both positive and negative payment history. All are regulated under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act uses the terms “consumer reporting agencies” and “consumer reports” instead of the more common “credit bureaus” and “credit reports.”


The Big Three credit reporting agencies are:


Experian
PO Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
Consumer Credit Questions
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
History of Experian Corporation


TransUnion
Post Office Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 888-4213
History of TransUion Corporation


Equifax
PO Box 105873
Atlanta, GA 30348
800-685-1111
History of Equifax Corporation

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CSC Credit Services
2100 East Grand Avenue
El Segundo, CA 90245
310.615.0311
History of CSC Credit Services

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