all about credit reports and how to get better credit scores

CAN YOU GET AN ACCOUNT ADDED TO YOUR CREDIT REPORT?  Probably not.  A mortgage lender posed the question this week: A consumer has a mortgage owned by a hedge fund that is serviced through a title company.  It is not on their credit reports.  Is there anything they can do? The three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, are for profit companies.  With the exception of public records, the accounts listed on a consumer's credit report are reported by 'subscribers'.  These subscribers are companies that pay the credit bureaus a fee to report their customers' information monthly to the credit bureaus. So as a consumer, you have the right to ask that something be added to your credit report.  However, it is not likely to happen. To be a subscriber, companies must be screened and sign contracts with the credit reporting agencies to make sure ...

Someone recently asked if the other credit bureaus will add something to their files if it shows up on one of the credit reports.  Short answer - NO, they do not monitor each other and "pick up" accounts they find. However, an account that gets added to one credit report often does show up on the others.  Here is why: There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Transunion.  They are officially called Credit Reporting Agencies. The official definition in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is: The term “consumer reporting agency” means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or ...