Three Major Credit Bureaux
Some of us
have no business writing about the three major credit
bureaux, and some of us have no need for all that
isinvolved in the 3 major credit bureaux. (And some of us fit
in both of these categories, having no real assets to work with or
write about!) In the same respect, the leading bureaus do
factor into most of our lives—if we have ever purchased a home, a
car, or other major item or if we use credit cards. We
cannot escape
this check on our lives.
When we shop for autos or houses or even appliances or
electrical or computer equipment, and we want to finance the items
(get them on a loan to own or credit basis), the ones doing the
financing company will run a credit check with one of the 3 major
credit bureaus: they will consult with or contact Equifax,
Experian, and/or TransUnion. Listed here in alphabetical
order are some of the particulars of each of the three major credit
unions:
Equifax – www.equifax.com –
Equifax offers services and products to protect against identity
theft, to manage and check
credit, and to prepare for a major purchase. Equifax also
provides tools for checking the value of a property, credit
ranking, and the latest in business solutions (for B2B, B2C, and
direct marketing, for example) and news …featuring such valuable
articles as “Small Businesses Beware: ‘Rip Me Off’ is Written all
over You;” “Yo Say You Can Smell Phish in Your In-box?” “Credit
Union Thwarts Phishers and Reveals How;” and “Websites Let Users
Send Email to Future.”
TO CALL
For general concerns, call 1-800-685-1111
To report or investigate fraud, call 1-800-525-6285
TO WRITE
To send snail mail correspondence, write to
PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian – www.experian.com
– Experian also offers products and services to protect against
fraud, to check 3-credit bureau reports, to check vehicle history
(with a report), and to get further educated—understanding your
credit and heeding customer alerts (such as those on Experian’s
Katrina victims help pages and how to beware of phishing).
TO CALL
For general concerns, or to report or investigate fraud, call
1-888-397-3742
TO WRITE
To send snail mail correspondence, write to
PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion – www.transunion.com – Like the
latter two, TransUnion offers products and support services for
credit monitoring, provides fraud-prevention education and help,
and free credit card report disclosures. As well, you can
subscribe to the newsletter, to stay updated and get helpful credit
tips; can find much information on preventing fraud or
resuscitating your credit if you have been a victim of fraud; and
can dispute credit card items you suspect or know to be false.
TO CALL
For general concerns, call 1-800-888-4213
To report or investigate fraud, call 1-800-680-7289
TO WRITE
To send snail mail correspondence, write to
PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022
If you need to, use all three major credit bureaus, then, for
help or support…or use one, as each of these three offers a
combined, 3-in-1 report.
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