Three major credit bureaus make up the basis for credit worthiness, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Equifax
Most known for their recent cyber-security breach May-July 2017 where over 148 million consumers’ personal data was stolen. Equifax is like the that guy in group therapy that doesn’t understand how the trust fall works.
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Delay of approximately 3 weeks when updating any information or disputing discrepancies
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To file claim: https://www.equifax.com/personal/disputes/
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Accounts and addresses on credit file are usually older and not updated
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Prone to having unrecorded on time payments
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Contact: 866-640-2273 – Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm EST – Best time to call: 9:05 am
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Offers chat support: https://www.equifax.com/personal/contact-us/
experian
Setting a much needed example for the rest, Experian has a great app, seamless website, fast accurate reporting, and a online dispute system that is similar to checking out on Amazon. It is for these reasons that lenders tend to pull your Experian credit report to make a lending decision.
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Delay of approximately 5 days when updating any information or disputing discrepancies
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To file claim: https://www.experian.com/disputes/main.html
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Most information on report will be accurate
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First two on-time payments usually missing from new accounts
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Information on report can go back decades
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Contact: 714-830-7000 – Mon-Fri 8 am-5 pm PST – Best time to call: 8:15 am
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Does not offer online chat support
TransUnion
The least likely report to be used by most lenders with the exception of Barclays products. Scores reported by TransUnion are typically higher when compared with Experian and Equifax.
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Delay of approximately 2 weeks when updating any information or disputing discrepancies
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Most contact and employment records are over 5 years outdated
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Least used, and of course, most likely your highest score
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Contact: 800-916-8800 – Mon-Thu 8 am-12 am, Fri-Sat 8 am-8 pm EST – Best time to call: 8:15 am