WHAT IS CREDIT BUREAU?

A credit bureau gathers information about how consumers use credit. In other words, they collect information from as many consumer financial transactions or inquiries as they can. They then sell access to that combined information to anyone who has a legally recognized reason. A major credit card company wants to promote a new credit card. They contact the credit bureaus and deliver a profile of the kind of person they think will be interested in the new card. The profile might include things like personal income, region or state the person lives in, number of credit cards, credit score, etc. The credit bureau then searches his or her records looking for anyone that matches that profile. If you fit the profile, an offer is mailed to you or someone calls you on the phone at inner time. It's one of the ways the credit bureaus make money.

Contacting the Bureaus

Consumer Credit and Score Information
Equifax                                   Experian                                TransUnion
P.O. Box 105851                        P.O. Box 2104                                 P.O. Box 1000
Atlanta, GA 30348              Allen, TX 75013                    Chester, PA 19022
(800) 655-1111                (888) 397-3742                     (800) 888-4213
www.equifax.com                   www.experian.com                  www.transunion.com

Risk Score Information

Fair Isaac Company
200 Smith Ranch Rd.
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 472-2211
www.fairisaac.com

THIS CONTENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS IN NO WAY GIVING ANY LEGAL ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN WAS COMPILED FROM VARIOUS ARTICLES. FOR ANY LEGAL ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION SEEK YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL.