Trans Union credit reports have been in existence for more than 30 years. They are one of the three major credit bureaus, or credit reporting agencies as they are sometimes called, in the United States. The other two credit bureaus are Equifax and Experian. These companies gather, maintain and sell information about a person’s credit history. The Trans Union credit bureau is an independent agency just like the other two main bureaus.
Trans Union credit reports contain only some of the information from your credit file that is typically seen by a creditor, lender or other party who requests a report on you. It does not contain everything that could be listed in your credit file. Trans Union credit reports may only have some of the inquiries that you can see. There may be other inquiries that are available to creditors that will not be listed on your Trans Union credit report. According to their Web site, www.Trans Union.com, their “national consumer credit information file includes public record information (bankruptcies, divorces, foreclosures, tax liens, etc.) and accounts receivable data from national, regional, and local credit grantors.” This information is incorporated into your individual Trans Union credit report that provides creditors with your payment history for all your financial obligations. Your payment history that is compiled in your Trans Union credit file is reviewed by credit grantors in order to help them determine whether or not they should allow you credit privileges.
The Trans Union credit bureau collects information about your payment activities from various sources: banks, savings and loans establishments, credit card companies, mortgage auto loan companies and other financial institutions. Credit bureaus do not necessarily share information. What may be on your Trans Union credit report may not be on your Equifax credit report. This is because some creditors do not automatically report to the Trans Union credit bureau, just as they may not report to the other agencies. This depends entirely on the company. Some of them will only report information if you are dangerously overdue. However, once this happens, legal action will be sought and collection agencies are consulted. Some of these companies are insurance agencies, rental agents, utility companies and medical facilities. Trans Union credit bureaus may also obtain information from public records (i.e. bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, court judgments etc.).
The Trans Union credit agency was created in 1986 by the Union Tank Car Company, a railcar leasing operation. According to their Web site, “since that time, Trans Union grew to one of the top business intelligence providers, maintaining one of the largest concise collections of consumer information outside of the federal government.” It wasn’t until 1969 that Trans Union took over the Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC). It is reported that at that time, “the Bureau manually maintained 3.6 million card files in 400 seven-drawer cabinets.” Now based in Chicago, the Trans Union credit bureau has 3600 employees in all 50 states. The Trans Union credit bureau even has locations on five continents and in 24 countries. This notoriety, combined with their credibility, makes the Trans Union credit bureau one of the main credit reporting agencies in the world.
By Jaime Cannon