When you visit a lender to borrow money, do you know how they decide whether or not to lend you money? The lender types information into their computer and then an answer comes back and they relate the “good news; you’re approved!” or “bad news; you’ve been declined” to us. What many people don’t know… Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court is trying to determine whether the federal government should be held accountable for the way it may have exposed consumers to identity theft. The case in question, U.S. v. Bormes, involves the government listing several details of consumers’ credit card numbers when they paid fees through the U.S. government’s Pay.gov payment… Read More

The federal agency tasked with protecting consumers from deceptive financial practices released new guidelines to ensure that credit reporting bureaus are adhering to government regulations. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now has issued new details for how its employees should evaluate companies that issue credit-related documents to consumers, according to its Consumer Reporting Examination… Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head announced Monday plans to begin regulation of credit reporting agencies. In a field hearing in Detroit, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said the impact a credit report can have on so many aspects of consumers’ lives is why the bureau is turning its attention to the private credit reporting industry…. Read More

Discovering and resolving mistakes on credit reports can be complicated. We often hear from users of our Credit Report Card who’ve noticed a sudden drop in their credit score accompanied by an unexplained delinquency. That leads to more digging and finding an error on one or more of their three bureau credit reports. That’s where… Read More

You’ve no doubt heard the advice many times: “Check your credit reports at least once a year to make sure they are accurate.” It’s good, solid advice worth heeding. But what happens when your credit information gets mixed up with someone else’s – and you can’t seem to separate it? Or worse yet, if you… Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a sweeping set of proposed rules on Thursday to regulate credit bureaus and debt collectors. Both industries have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Credit reporting agencies play a fundamental role in consumers’ ability to obtain loans and other forms of credit, yet remain almost entirely unregulated. And… Read More

How do I add a credit reference to my credit report if the lender does not report?

Can you tell me why the three major credit reporting agencies do not have the same information on their credit reports pertaining to the individual. Every one of my reports have different information.

The term that is used in the credit world is “bureau preference” and all it means is that any lender can pick and chose which credit reporting agency they will use to decision your application. So, if the lender wants to pull your Experian credit report then so be it. If they want to pull TransUnion or Equifax, then they can do that too. The credit reporting agencies don’t have any sort of exclusive deals with any lenders that would prohibit them from buying a credit report from a competing credit bureau. It’s voluntary.