Should i get transunion or equifax

A number of factors are commonly used in calculating your credit scores. These include your credit card utilization, payment history and length of credit history. No credit score from any one of the credit bureaus is more valuable or more accurate than another. And while a lender may prefer credit reports and scores from a specific bureau, keep in mind that each situation and application is different, with multiple variables to take into consideration.

It may be difficult to know which credit report and score a lender is using to evaluate your credit. The reporting agency is required to provide you with a copy of the report used for the decision to deny your credit application. If you spot any errors in your report, you can dispute them and the agency is required to investigate and correct any errors it finds.

The credit history reflected on your credit reports and scores can directly affect your ability to get credit. List of Partners vendors. People talk a lot about credit bureaus. What do they do? How do they differ? And why are there three of them? Credit bureaus compile credit reports and credit scores about individual borrowers primarily for governments and lenders.

They deal with consumer creditworthiness. Credit bureaus package and analyze consumer credit reports from which credit scores are derived. Credit scores are issued as three-digit numbers, typically between and , and they impact the size of a loan you can qualify for, the interest rate you pay on that loan or on a credit card, and sometimes even your renting and employment opportunities. They are limited in how they collect, disburse, and disclose consumer information and have come under increased scrutiny since the Great Recession of One interesting feature of the credit bureau business model is how information is exchanged.

Banks, financing companies, retailers, and landlords send consumer credit information to the credit bureaus for free , and the credit bureaus turn around and sell consumer information right back to them. In the U. This trio dominates the market for collecting, analyzing, and disbursing information about consumers in the credit markets. Credit scores have historically been based on the FICO score associated with the data-analytic company originally known as the Fair Isaac Corporation.

Especially dominant in the U. South and Midwest, it claims to be the market leader in most of the countries in which it has a presence. With domestic headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif. All three credit bureaus collect the same type of information about consumers.

This includes personal data, such as name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. It also includes credit history , including debts, payment history, and credit application activity. It is common practice for the credit bureaus to collect information from federal and private student loans and housing lenders.

If you are delinquent in making student loan payments, Sallie Mae can report you to a credit bureau—typically after the day mark. Federal loans provide more leeway, allowing 90 days to pass before filing a report. A tax lien filing is considered public information, and the bureaus can find it through third-party research. Each credit bureau uses information on consumers to develop credit reports and calculate credit scores. The higher the score, the lower the credit risk a consumer is deemed to be—and the higher their creditworthiness.

VantageScore is the result of a collaboration between the three nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each of the credit unions has built its own FICO models specific to different types of lending. While FICO 8 is commonly used across all bureaus to assess general creditworthiness, each bureau has a different model for different types of lending. Experian is a relative newcomer in the credit reporting space, having been founded in It collects and provides credit information on million US residents, and a total of more than 1 billion worldwide, with operations in 37 countries.

This represents a trial membership, and you can cancel at any time within without being charged. The main difference between IdentityWorks and CreditWorks is that IdentityWorks offers only a quarterly three-bureau credit report, where CreditWorks offers that service monthly. Experian also offers its premium CreditWorks plan that offers greater protection. They also offer a CreditWorks Basic free with no credit card required, but you only get a monthly report from Experian instead of all three.

Based in Chicago, TransUnion collects and provides credit information on more than million consumers in the US and a billion worldwide. The service was founded in VantageScore is a parallel credit score, commonly used by free credit score providers.

FICO scores on the other hand, are the ones commonly used by banks. On the upside, TransUnion provides a substantial amount of tools and analysis to help you fully understand your credit score, as well as how to improve it. This can be particularly valuable to anyone who has a low score, and is looking for a way to increase it without having to pay for a costly credit repair service. To make the comparison of Equifax, Experian and Transunion easier, the table below shows a side-by-side listing of the pricing and main features of each service.

Based on our analysis, Experian provides the best service for the money. That applied to both individuals and family plans. TransUnion is bringing up the rear among the three. Not only does it offer fewer services, but it also charges the highest monthly fee. Each will provide basic credit monitoring as well as some degree of identity theft protection and other important services.

Collection agencies and debt collectors may also report to the credit bureaus if you have any delinquent activity. The rest of the information credit bureaus collect comes from public court records. They access these records in search of any possible bankruptcies, tax liens, repossessions, and foreclosures.

Credit bureaus use your information to create credit reports and credit scores. They then share your information with potential lenders, landlords, and employers for a number of reasons. Your credit report may be pulled up in the following scenarios:. Credit bureaus also sell information for marketing purposes. Say a lender is looking for potential customers with poor credit who might need a credit card. The lender will reach out to a credit bureau, which will then sell the lender a prescreening list of qualifying individuals and their basic contact information.

The FCRA is a law that states you have the right to know your credit report and the right to dispute any errors on your credit report. If a potential lender, landlord, utility provider, future employer, insurer — you name it — wants to view your full credit report, they must have a permissible purpose and your permission first. In some cases, a potential lender will simply let you know that they will do a credit pull, and by following through with the application, you grant them permission to do so.

In other cases, a landlord might have you use a tenant screening service like ExperianConnect, where you have to download your credit report and share it with them directly. A report prepared by credit bureaus that shows an individual's credit history, including payment history, loan balances, credit limits, and personal information such as your social security number, birth date, and address. A number that indicates an individuals creditworthiness and is based on the individual's credit history, payment history, and other data compiled by credit bureaus.

A typical credit report will give you a full breakdown of all your open or closed credit accounts, bank accounts, loans, and payment history. A credit score , on the other hand, provides much less detail. You may be able to drill down to see the factors that affect your credit score, and you may not. Think of it like this: a credit report is a detailed report of what your credit history is , while a credit score is an interpretation of what your credit history means.

Credit bureaus are legally obligated to give you a free credit report once a year, whereas there is no law requiring them to provide a credit score. Note: In certain situations — like unemployment, identity theft, and fraud — you can access your credit report multiple times a year without charge.

Credit scores are all based on similar data but can vary significantly depending on the credit score model. Credit scores are generally affected by the following:. How this information is transformed into a credit score depends on the credit model being used. FICO credit scores range from — and are determined by these five factors, which are ranked in terms of importance by percentage:.

This model also uses a scale. Scores are determined by the following six factors that are ranked by level of importance rather than a percentage:. It makes sense that your credit score may vary depending on whether the potential lender is using the FICO or VantageScore model. Credit scores are ever-changing and lenders all have their own way of calculating and evaluating your credit score. Now that you know what credit bureaus are and how they work, when should you use one?

Here are five of the most common scenarios for when you should use a credit bureau. If there are errors, they can take a while to set right. Knowing the state of your credit before applying gives you the time to put your best foot forward and significantly increases your chances of being approved for a loan.

For more tips and tricks about increasing your chances of securing the loan you want, read our post on improving your loan application. Knowing your credit report beforehand is key. Again, if there are any errors, you can correct them before your future apartment or house is on the line.

Or, if there is a missed payment or some other potential red flag on your credit report, you can try to explain the situation to your landlord in advance rather than being flat-out rejected. If you are wanting to monitor and improve your credit score, you need to know your score first. They also offer credit monitoring subscriptions that allow you to regularly view your credit score and receive alerts when there are any changes to your credit score.

Check each of the big three credit bureaus for errors as they all collect and maintain different information. Another benefit of using a credit bureau is fraud prevention and identity protection. If you stay on top of your credit report, you can pinpoint anything fishy and secure your information.

When it comes to fraud and identity theft, the sooner you notice a problem, the better. As an added bonus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all offer additional business services to help business owners manage, expand, and secure their small businesses.

These services include everything from analytics to customer acquisition to risk management to fraud prevention and more.

Each bureau has their own process for disputing.