Which is better experian or transunion

Credit bureaus also sell information for marketing purposes. Say a lender is looking for potential customers with poor credit who might need a credit card. The lender will reach out to a credit bureau, which will then sell the lender a prescreening list of qualifying individuals and their basic contact information.

The FCRA is a law that states you have the right to know your credit report and the right to dispute any errors on your credit report. If a potential lender, landlord, utility provider, future employer, insurer — you name it — wants to view your full credit report, they must have a permissible purpose and your permission first.

In some cases, a potential lender will simply let you know that they will do a credit pull, and by following through with the application, you grant them permission to do so.

In other cases, a landlord might have you use a tenant screening service like ExperianConnect, where you have to download your credit report and share it with them directly. A report prepared by credit bureaus that shows an individual's credit history, including payment history, loan balances, credit limits, and personal information such as your social security number, birth date, and address.

A number that indicates an individuals creditworthiness and is based on the individual's credit history, payment history, and other data compiled by credit bureaus. A typical credit report will give you a full breakdown of all your open or closed credit accounts, bank accounts, loans, and payment history.

A credit score , on the other hand, provides much less detail. You may be able to drill down to see the factors that affect your credit score, and you may not. Think of it like this: a credit report is a detailed report of what your credit history is , while a credit score is an interpretation of what your credit history means.

Credit bureaus are legally obligated to give you a free credit report once a year, whereas there is no law requiring them to provide a credit score. Note: In certain situations — like unemployment, identity theft, and fraud — you can access your credit report multiple times a year without charge.

Credit scores are all based on similar data but can vary significantly depending on the credit score model. Credit scores are generally affected by the following:. How this information is transformed into a credit score depends on the credit model being used. FICO credit scores range from — and are determined by these five factors, which are ranked in terms of importance by percentage:.

This model also uses a scale. Scores are determined by the following six factors that are ranked by level of importance rather than a percentage:.

It makes sense that your credit score may vary depending on whether the potential lender is using the FICO or VantageScore model.

Credit scores are ever-changing and lenders all have their own way of calculating and evaluating your credit score. Now that you know what credit bureaus are and how they work, when should you use one?

Here are five of the most common scenarios for when you should use a credit bureau. If there are errors, they can take a while to set right. Knowing the state of your credit before applying gives you the time to put your best foot forward and significantly increases your chances of being approved for a loan. For more tips and tricks about increasing your chances of securing the loan you want, read our post on improving your loan application.

Knowing your credit report beforehand is key. Again, if there are any errors, you can correct them before your future apartment or house is on the line. Or, if there is a missed payment or some other potential red flag on your credit report, you can try to explain the situation to your landlord in advance rather than being flat-out rejected. If you are wanting to monitor and improve your credit score, you need to know your score first.

They also offer credit monitoring subscriptions that allow you to regularly view your credit score and receive alerts when there are any changes to your credit score. Check each of the big three credit bureaus for errors as they all collect and maintain different information.

Another benefit of using a credit bureau is fraud prevention and identity protection. If you stay on top of your credit report, you can pinpoint anything fishy and secure your information. When it comes to fraud and identity theft, the sooner you notice a problem, the better. As an added bonus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion all offer additional business services to help business owners manage, expand, and secure their small businesses. These services include everything from analytics to customer acquisition to risk management to fraud prevention and more.

Each bureau has their own process for disputing. For more details on common credit report mistakes and how to dispute credit report errors, visit the FICO website.

You can do so by submitting a fraud alert or security freeze sometimes known as a credit freeze. Both a fraud alert and security freeze are steps to secure your credit report and personal information, but they differ slightly. A fraud alert warns credit bureaus that there might be fraudulent activity, so potential lenders will need to take extra measure to verify your identity before extending credit.

A security freeze blocks lenders from accessing your credit report at all until the freeze is lifted by you usually using a pin. To place a fraud alert, contact Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion and follow their instructions.

You only need to contact one of the big three credit bureaus to place a fraud alert as they will notify the other two credit bureaus. A credit freeze has the advantage of being much more secure. However, you will have to lower the freeze each you time you or a lender need to view your credit report, and you may be required to pay for the service. Unlike a fraud alert, you will have to place a security freeze with each of the three bureaus.

Now that you know the basics about credit bureaus and the reasons to use one, how do you know which credit bureau to use? How do the big three compare to each other? And what products do each credit bureau offer? Read on to learn more about each credit bureau. Best For individuals looking to check their Equifax credit report and score and in need of a free credit lock service.

The oldest of the three credit bureaus, Equifax has been around since Today, Equifax offers basic credit report and credit score services as well as several business products.

The most notable aspect of Equifax is its free credit lock service that allows individuals to protect their data at no additional cost.

Equifax offers basic credit report and credit score services, as well as a free credit lock service. You can use this to view your own business credit or to ascertain the credit health of a potential business partner, supplier, or new customer. In addition to business credit reports, Equifax offers 11 products to help you run your small business.

These products range from customer acquisition to risk mitigation to credit monitoring to fraud prevention and more. TransUnion offers both FICO scores and VantageScores for creditors and lenders but also provides companies specific products that focus on various standards depending on what type of information the company is looking for. Still, it uses the Equifax Credit Score Model when you purchase your credit score from their website.

On top of the major consumer credit bureaus credit scores, we have what are called FICO scores. How do lenders interpret all of these different types of credit scores? It might be helpful to have access to your different bank accounts at this time because the questions can be fairly specific about deposits, loan amounts, account opening dates, and more.

When going through this process, you can select which credit reports you want to retrieve. If you plan on applying for a loan sometime in the next year, you might want to just check one credit report now to see if you have any red flags. Then, after working on rebuilding your credit for several months, you can access a credit report from another bureau to see if any items have been changed.

Consider a credit monitoring service if you would like to have monthly access to your credit reports and credit scores to see what has changed and protect against identity theft. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion each offer credit monitoring services. Just remember that none of your free credit reports include your credit score.

When you pay, the credit bureaus have just 30 days to respond to a dispute, but they have 45 days to respond if you access your annual credit report from AnnualCreditReport.

So it really just depends on you and your timeline. While it might seem confusing to have three separate credit reports, it can actually be a good thing. This is because they each use a slightly different method of collecting, reporting, and analyzing your credit history. This ensures a holistic, balanced view of your credit history, especially when it comes time to apply for a loan or credit card. Credit reports also include identifying information such as your name, Social Security Number, current and former addresses, and current and past employers that have been reported to the bureaus by the creditors.

In the case of Experian, to help protect you from identity theft, they do not list your actual SSN on your personal credit report. Different lenders use different credit scores, with FICO Score 8 being widely used, so you may want to keep an eye on this score. Your credit score may vary depending on whether Experian, TransUnion or Equifax is the source of the data used.

Both Experian and TransUnion let you check your credit report and score and provide services to help protect or improve your score. Experian offers a variety of products to help protect your identity and boost your credit score, as well as educational tools.

Provide some basic information to create a free Experian CreditWorks Basic account and check your personal credit score for free. The basic version of Experian CreditWorks is free and includes monthly access to your credit score, credit report monitoring, alerts when your score changes, one surveillance report to show if your personal information is on the dark web, and credit card and loan offers through Experian CreditMatch more on that below.

CreditWorks Premium is a paid plan offering daily access to your Experian credit report and score; monthly access to credit reports and scores from all three credit bureaus; auto, home and bankcard FICO Scores; a FICO simulator showing how different actions could affect your credit score; and the ability to lock and unlock your credit report with Experian CreditLock. It can help improve your credit score by adding your payments to utility companies, cell phone providers and streaming services to your credit report.

If you make the payments on time, however, having them added with Experian Boost can help increase your credit score. Experian CreditMatch is a free service that matches you with loans and credit cards you may qualify for based on your credit profile. Applying for loans and credit products that fit your credit profile can enhance your chances of being approved. If you own your own business, you should monitor your business as well as your personal credit score.

Experian also offers an annual subscription, Business Credit Advantage. Create a free TransUnion account to set up a credit freeze, preventing lenders from checking your credit report, or get fraud alerts that require lenders to take additional steps to verify your identity when someone applies for credit in your name. You can also get a free credit report by signing up for the free TrueIdentity service more on that below.

Servicemembers on active duty can get free Active Duty Credit Monitoring, which provides unlimited access to your TransUnion credit report and email alerts within 48 hours of critical changes being reported to your credit file. Experian and TransUnion charge a similar price for their premium product.