Credit Reporting Agency

If you want a copy of your credit report (all of the information on your payment history and the status of your current borrowing accounts), you'll want to contact a credit reporting agency.

These are the agencies which report that you signed up for a credit card while on Spring Break, went on a total spending spree, and blew up your credit by defaulting on your credit card.

This is the agency in charge of tracking the credit histories of individuals and businesses in the form of credit reports and credit scores. The three big credit bureaus that track consumer credit histories are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Consumers are entitled to one credit report from these agencies every year. This rule, and the law that regulates the credit reporting industry, falls under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).