Why You Should Check All Three of Your Credit Reports

Did you know you have more than one credit report? In the United States there are three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If a creditor, lender, or another business needs to review your credit to approve your application, they’re likely going to use your credit report from at least one of these credit bureaus. When you’re monitoring your credit, it’s important that you check all three of these credit reports, not just one of them.

Not all businesses report to all three credit bureaus. The credit bureaus get information from companies that you do business with. Some of those businesses only send updates to just one of those credit bureaus, but you can’t always know which one. A fraudulently opened accounts, for example, may show up on just one of your credit reports. If it just so happens to be the credit report that you’re not checking, that account can sit out there unchecked for months, or even years.

Credit bureaus don’t share information with each other. Except in the case of a fraud alert on one of your credit reports, the credit bureaus generally do not share your account information with each other. This could mean that your account information does not appear the same on both of your credit reports.

Future lenders may check one or all three of your credit reports. If you’re getting ready for a major loan application, for example, to purchase a house or a car, you’ll need to have your complete credit history in the best shape possible. This is especially true if plan to shop around for the best loan terms. 

If you want to make sure your credit history is accurate across all your credit reports, you must check all of them. Remember, all consumers are entitled to one free credit report from each of the major credit bureaus every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com.