What Is A Credit Bureau?
Credit bureaus are compilers of information. Each credit bureau (there are 3) collects information on financial credit details from merchants and lenders, and make that information available (through a credit check) to others who are considering making loans or granting credit.
The big 3 credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Merchants and lenders report to them about how individuals repay and manage their credit. They also make credit reports available to anyone wanting to know financial and personal details from an applicant requesting credit, applying for a job or wanting to rent property.
The Big 3 credit report agencies keep a running list of the credit accounts you have opened, how much you currently owe, what your highest debt load was, and your current balance, whether you make payments on time (or not), and the specific lenders who’ve granted you credit.
They also store other information about you as well, addresses, current and past employment, your SIN number, and other public records such as liens, judgments, and bankruptcy.
Is There Anything A Credit Bureau CAN’T Do?
Sometimes it seems like these companies are collecting every bit of personal information they can. As George Orwell predicted “big brother is watching”. By law there are some personal details that the credit bureau is not allowed to record. Things like race, age, health issues and criminal record.
It was legislated that you can legally request a free copy of your credit report from the BIG 3 annually. But you have to request them through the Annual Credit Report Request Service. Beware of the offers for “free online credit checks”. These usually come with paid subscription credit protection services.
There are other reasons that you can legally request a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus. If you’ve had an application rejected, are on public assistance or unemployed, or if you suspect you’ve been a victim of identity theft or credit fraud. If you are worried about these issues you should contact each credit bureau and ask for their help.