Credit Bureaus

Credit Bureaus

Why Americans Know Little About the Major Credit Bureaus

The average consumer knows very little about the Three Major Credit Bureaus - and that's the way the bureaus want to keep it. There's only one thing that's certain and that's the fact they yield major power and control over financial lives. Do you agree this is true, and if so, why is it we know so little about these bureaus?

I can only speak for myself, but I can tell you that when I applied for my first loan, I knew nothing about their policies and the factors that go into Credit Scores. I quickly learned, however, they were the ones to contact when I was declined. The only information my bank revealed was that I should contact the credit bureaus for any information regarding the reasons why I was declined. Like most consumers, I assumed it was a government agency that maintained private records of everyone's financial lives.

It would be years before I discovered that wasn't the case. Credit bureaus, also known as consumer reporting agencies and Credit Reporting Agencies, are for-profit private companies. My first question was how were the profits earned? Their profits come from selling your private information. I don't recall giving permission to sell my personal and private information. Do you?

The truth is, most Americans are completely unaware of their rights when it comes to their Credit Reports, and more specifically, what's being sold, who it's being sold to and what can and cannot be reported. Of course, that's exactly the way the credit bureaus wish to keep it. And now I will tell you why.

When you dispute any information on your Credit Report, by law, the bureaus must respond within thirty days. They must have the manpower to ensure these disputes are addressed within the thirty day timeframe, which means they must hire personnel to deal with these issues. The more disputes they receive, the higher the payroll. Because it costs consumers nothing to dispute any information, this, of course, cuts into their profits. Fewer profits mean unhappy bureaus.

They would prefer consumers to accept what's reported, continue to collect denial letters and pay higher interest rates. In fact, when you dispute any information contained in your credit report, their policies make it quite difficult to for you to obtain an accurate Credit History. Often, they operate outside the legal parameters in their efforts to stall, confuse and discourage you from contacting them.

Statistics show that 79% of all Consumer Credit reports have erroneous information. If only half of those with errors and mistakes on their reports took advantage of their federal rights to dispute their credit reports, the costs to the credit bureaus would be steep, to say the least. More importantly, it would save consumers millions of dollars on an annual basis. Wise consumers pay lower interest rates, which equate to lower profits for lenders and consumer reporting agencies.

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Now you can successfully raise your negative credit scores and beat the bureaus at their own game.

Is it possible to have a cell phone company report your payment history to the credit bureaus?

I have had T-Mobile for about a couple of years now and I've had a perfect payment history with them. Because they looked at My Credit before granting me an account and a spending limit, can I request that they report my payment history to the credit bureaus? Just thinking of ways to continue to raise my somewhat low score. Thanks in advance! =)

They are not going to report to the credit bureaus. But you can ask for a letter of reference from them.
If you do not have enough credit some creditors may use letter of references from your other creditors that do not report.
That includes you house phone, electricity, and gas bills.
And if you have not looked at your credit report, review and you can go to www.annualcreditreport.com if you have not already done so.
Have fun and good luck.

Identity Theft

 

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Tagged with: bureaus • credit • credit bureaus contact information • credit bureaus dispute letters • credit bureaus fraud alert • credit bureaus identity theft • credit bureaus phone numbers • finance • repair • report

Filed under: Improve Your Credit Score

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