Credit Bureau vs. Credit Reporting Agency – Episode #77

Is there a difference between credit bureaus and credit reporting agencies?

Short answer: No

While most government references to these companies are as CRAs or Credit Reporting Agencies, most consumers may know the term Credit Bureau better. A credit bureau or credit reporting agency gathers information about how consumers use credit — they collect information from as many consumer financial transactions or inquiries as possible.

So, who are the credit reporting agencies?

• The big three are Trans Union, Equifax and Experian – they manage nearly 200 million credit files.

Are those three the only ones?

• There are many others, for instance, Innovis and some small regional credit bureaus still in existence.

Other facts:

• TRW is now Experian
• “Agency” or “Bureau” doesn’t mean non-profit or government entity. Trans Union, Equifax and Experian are for-profit companies.
• The big 3 companies share data, but they also maintain separate reports and separate scoring models.

Timeline of History

Equifax

• 1899: Equifax was founded as Retail Credit Company
• 1975: Retail Credit Company changes its name to improve its image to Equifax

Trans Union

• 1968: Trans Union was founded as Union Tank Car
• 1969: Union Tank Car enters the credit business
• 2002: Trans Union buys Truelink and enters the consumer report and credit score business now known as TrueCredit

Experian

• 1901: The origin of the TRW company was in the Cleveland Cap Screw Company, which eventually became Thompson Products.
• 1958: merger of Thompson with the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation (named after Simon Ramo and Dean Wooldridge) was named Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.,
• 1965: Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc. shortened to TRW Inc.
• 1996: TRW spins off credit business as TRW Information Services and Experian buys them.
• 2002: Experian buys ConsumerInfo.com and enters the consumer report and credit score business

Similar Posts:

• Credit Bureau vs. Credit Reporting Agency – Episode #77
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• Credit Score vs. Credit Ratings – Episode #92
• What’s a Beacon Credit Score? – Episode #13
• Reason Codes: What They Mean for My Credit Score – Episode #109
• How Can I Find a Credit Counselor I Can Trust? – Episode #34