Credit Reporting Agencies*

If you've ever applied for a charge account, a personal loan, insurance, or a job, there's a file about you. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy.

Companies that gather and sell this information are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs). The most common type of CRA is the credit bureau. The information CRAs sell about you to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses is called a consumer report.

How do I find the CRA that has my report?
Contact the CRAs listed in the Yellow Pages under "credit" or "credit rating and reporting." Because more than one CRA may have a file on you, call each until you locate all the agencies maintaining your file. The three major national credit bureaus are:

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
800-685-1111
http://www.equifax.com

Experian
P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013
888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)
http://www.experian.com

Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
800-916-8800
http://www.transunion.com

There is also ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM
This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

* Information from  the Federal Trade Commission