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This is a guest post from Debt Lead, who has a debt consolidation website by Kimberly Credit Counseling.

Credit bureaus, also referred to as credit repositories, are an entity that gathers information about consumers’ credit histories. Your credit history includes information concerning your identity, your payment habits, and your public record. Credit bureaus sell credit reports to credit granters, such as banks, finance companies, and retailers. Additionally, credit bureaus will sell credit reports to potential employers, landlords and insurance companies. Businesses and credit
grantors use credit reports to determine creditworthiness.

There are three major companies that are in the business of collecting and distributing credit histories on all Americans. If you’re an average American, it’s more than likely all three companies have a credit history report on you.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are all different companies, meaning that each company has a different version of your credit history.  In general, lenders, landlords, and employers use either one of the three credit bureaus mentioned above to get a sense of your credit, while mortgage companies and auto dealers utilize all three bureaus simultaneously.  This makes it necessary to obtain reports from all three companies, to ensure each report is accurate.

TransUnion serves a broad range of industries including financial and banking services, insurance providers, mortgage and real estate services, direct marketers and retailers, collection agencies, communication and energy companies and healthcare facilities.

Experian is the company that was created after TRW left the credit reporting industry in 1996. Experian collects information about you and your credit history from public records, your creditors and other reliable sources.

Equifax is the oldest of the three major credit bureaus, which dates back to two brothers setting up a company called Retail Credit Company in Atlanta, Georgia back in 1899. The company became Equifax in 1975 and they claim to be the largest provider of consumer information. Equifax serves customers across a wide range of industries including the financial services, retail, healthcare, telecommunications/utilities, brokerage, insurance, and governmental agencies.

In order to make sure you can get the best loan rates possible, it is imperative that you periodically look at each credit report and make sure there are no errors.  Check for information like dates, credit limits and the different number of credit cards on file.  Be doubly sure that there are no credit cards opened under your name without your prior approval or else you will have a tough time getting the loan rate that you deserve.