Credit Bureaus - Also Known As Consumer Reporting Agencies -- CRA's

A credit report is a summary of your credit history as reported by the three national credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. It lists your credit obligations, as well as your payment history that the three national credit bureaus (the 3 repositories) show for you, including your credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. It can also include court records, current and past addresses, other names you go by, and a list of recent inquiries into your credit report.

Here are some links related to credit report and credit reporting topics, including how to obtain your free annual credit report:

Who are 3 Credit Bureaus - contact information for the 3 credit agencies Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- handy information just in case you need to dispute inaccurate information in your credit history.
- Experian - Experian was once known in this country as TRW Credit Reporting or just TRW. but it has since moved its company headquarters to Great Britain and become known as Experian PLC.
- Equifax - Equifax is headquarted in Atlanta, Georgia.
- TransUnion - TransUnion is based out of Chicago, Illinois.
- Innovis - the 4th Credit Bureau? - Innovis is sometimes called the 4th national credit bureau.
- Corelogic Credco - Corelogic CREDCO incorporates their proprietary database information with the information from the three national credit bureaus for the CoreScore Credit Report for lenders. Consumers can get a copy of their own report.
- ChexSystems - When you overdraw your bank account, it is likely that behavior is being tracked by a company like ChexSystems.

Opt Out and Do Not Call from Direct Marketing and Credit Bureaus

Learn how to keep your private information from getting into the hands of telemarketers, direct marketers and credit companies.

Opt Out Information - To reduce the amount of direct mail solicitations, you can opt out of credit bureau prescreen list sales by calling the number contained in this article.
Opt-Out Prescreen Online - Consumers can now also notify the 3 national credit reporting agencies online to remove their names from lists that the 3 national credit reporting agencies sell to companies that mail you pre-approved offers of credit and insurance
Do Not Call information - Here is a link to the site that removes your phone number from telemarketing lists.link to site that removes your phone number from telemarketing lists