Hundreds of Companies are Dealing Your Data
This is a central directory of all the “other” consumer reporting companies – companies that collect information and provide reports on consumers that are used to decide whether to provide consumers credit, insurance, or employment, and for other purposes.
The list includes both the biggest nationwide credit reporting companies and a longer list of “specialty reporting companies.” Specialty reporting companies focus on certain industries. There are a lot of these companies on the list, so we’re also trying to give tips on which of them may be important to you.
The list also includes information about how you can obtain copies of your reports by calling each toll-free “streamlined” telephone number or by written request sent via postal mail.
Consumer reporting companies are required to give you a free copy of your consumer report if an adverse action is taken against you based on information in your report from that company, and under other specific circumstances. In addition, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, some consumer reporting companies must provide you with a free copy of your report every 12 months. All consumer reporting companies must provide you with a copy of your report for a fixed fee (the current maximum is $11.50). Keep in mind that not every consumer reporting company will have information on every consumer.
If, upon review of your consumer report, you believe there is data in it that is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to dispute your report’s content with the consumer reporting company and the company that furnished the data. You may also wish to dispute other issues such as if you are dissatisfied with a company’s investigation of an earlier dispute, if you believe your consumer report was used incorrectly, if you have problems accessing your consumer report, or if you are dissatisfied with consumer reporting services such as credit monitoring and identity protection.
To learn more about disputing a reporting error directly to a consumer reporting agency, visit http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/314/how-do-i-dispute-an-error-on-my- credit-report.html. You can also submit a complaint to the CFPB. To do so, visit https://help.consumerfinance.gov/app/creditreporting/ask. To see if a company listed below appears in the CFPB consumer complaint database visit http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaintdatabase/.