| There are three main credit bureaus in the United | | | | three credit bureaus in order to see the complete |
| States; Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Each | | | | picture. |
| bureau collects your personal and financial information | | | | There are a couple of options to checking all three of |
| which is then sold to lenders such as banks, credit | | | | your credit reports. You can contact each of the credit |
| unions, credit card companies, mortgage and auto loan | | | | bureaus individually to request a copy. Or you can go |
| lenders. Your credit report is the product of this | | | | through one of the many companies that provide a |
| collected information. Lending and credit companies | | | | 3-in-1 credit report like [ Obtaining a 3-in-1 credit report |
| use your credit information to determine if they will | | | | is usually more convenient and user friendly to the |
| approve you or not and at what interest rate you will | | | | consumer compared to requesting individual copies. |
| pay. | | | | Verifying the data on all three of your credit reports is |
| Many people are recognizing the importance of | | | | the only way to know that the information that |
| checking their own credit report to verify its accuracy | | | | potential lenders and creditors are evaluating you on is |
| and to make sure that they know where they stand in | | | | correct. When considering you for a loan, some |
| the credit world. Until they begin the process to obtain | | | | lenders will pull your credit report from only one or two |
| a copy of their credit report, some people do not | | | | of the credit bureaus while other lenders will pull your |
| realize that they actually have three credit reports | | | | credit report from all three. It is always a good idea to |
| instead of just one. The three main credit bureaus | | | | check your credit reports BEFORE applying for your |
| keep separate credit records from one another and | | | | next big purchase. Covering your bases beforehand |
| produce their own credit reports. Instead of the credit | | | | can often times save you a lot of time and hassle |
| bureaus working together and sharing information | | | | during the application process. |
| among themselves like some people may think, they | | | | Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as |
| are actually competitors. That is why the information | | | | the authors bio paragraph at the bottom of this article |
| provided on one credit report will more than likely be | | | | is included, the article is published “as is” |
| different from the information provided on the credit | | | | (unedited) and all URL’s are made active |
| report from another credit bureau. Therefore, it is | | | | hyperlinks with no syntax changes. |
| recommended to check your credit report from all | | | | |