The Three Agencies

Your Experian credit report may have a few items on it but you’ll want to contact the other two agencies and get your credit reports from them to see exactly who you owe and how much. The two other agencies besides Experian are Trans Union and Equifax. You are entitled to a free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies. So why won’t your Experian credit report be enough? Don’t all three agencies have your entire list of lenders and debt records? The answer is no, they don’t.

How It Works

When you open a line of credit, such as opening a credit card, starting a line at a department store, buying a house or a car, or just getting a loan from a bank, the lender will report to one of the three agencies. Some companies only report to Experian while another may only report to Equifax. Now, some may report to more than one company and some companies may report to all three but just to be on the safe side, you should get your Experian credit report as well as your Equifax and Trans Union.

Only by getting all three reports can you truly know what your real credit score is, who and what you owe and whether or not you’ve been the victim of identity theft, which some don’t find out until it’s much too late. Some people get their Experian credit report and think everything’s fine only to find that their Trans Union or Equifax report shows thousands of dollars owed to a creditor that they don’t even know about. So get all three reports and be proactive about your credit.

Related posts:

1. What Does Your Credit Report Score Really Mean?
2. Make Your Credit Report Request Online for an Immediate Credit Report
3. Take Advantage of Your Free Annual Credit Report