Credit Report Agency

The purpose of a credit report agency is to prepare credit reports of individuals or corporations. The presence of efficient credit report agency in a country is essential to make its economy all the more affluent and dynamic in nature.

Significance of credit report agencies:

The necessity of the presence of a credit report agency lies in the fact that as soon as credit purchasing starts replacing cash as the principal method of buying expensive items, the economy of that particular nation gains motivation and becomes all the more prosperous.

Common services extended by credit report agencies across the world: All the credit report agencies across the globe are entrusted with some common functions, which are described below:

• The primary responsibility of a credit report agency is to prepare credit reports for its clients, be they individuals or companies. It is also a part of its responsibility to re-assess these reports from time to time.
• It is the duty of the credit granters to report their activities to the credit report agencies.
• Credit reporting agencies gather detailed information regarding financial institutions and companies, different tax-related offices, owners of landed properties, and other credit sources prior to the preparation of credit reports.
• A credit reporting agency calculates and maintains the credit scores on the basis of the credit ratings of the reports prepared.
• The methods and techniques employed to gather and manage the credit information of an individual or a company vary widely among different credit agencies.

In preparing a credit report, the credit report agencies take into account the following facts about the clients:

• Name of the person or the company concerned
• Residential/commercial address, both current and past
• Date of birth of the individual or the organization
• Credit limits
• Social security number
• Credit-worthiness of the person or the organization concerned
• Name of the former employer and designation, in case of individuals
• Name of the partner/partners, in case of business firms
• Details about the individual's income
• Modes of payment of the bills

The credit reporting agencies of a country maintain privacy of their activities very strictly, and may not share information regarding the credit details of their clients.

On the national level, credit report agencies sell information to insurers, lenders, employers and other commercial organizations. The information is used to analyze the credit-worthiness of individuals applying for home mortgages or rental, credit, employment, and insurance.

The important credit report agencies in the United States are:

• Experian
• TransUnion
• Equifax