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Equifax
Since its founding in 1899, Equifax has evolved
into one of the three major credit bureaus in the United States.
Like many large companies, Equifax has several different divisions;
two often mistaken for each other are Equifax Consumer Services,
Inc and Equifax Information Services LLC. When most people think
about Equifax, they think about their credit report and credit
score. The information maintained in your file is done so by Equifax
Information Services LLC. The company that makes your Equifax
credit information available to you online is Equifax Consumer
Services.
Among all of the leading bureaus, Equifax has been among the most
proactive, offering and encouraging the public to view their credit
reports and corresponding scores. To accomplish this task they
have built extensive online services, making it possible to dispute
items in the credit report directly online (there is no charge
for this service), as well as many other services. Their web address
is www.equifax.com.
Equifax uses the Fair Isaac Corporation to calculate a FICO score
which they call a Beacon score. The leading bureaus all use the
same FICO standard, but name their resulting scores differently
for marketing purposes. Like the other bureaus, Equifax offers
tailored scores depending on the type of loan you are applying
for, so you may notice slightly different results in you score
if you purchase a home and a car in the same time frame.
Equifax collects information about your credit history, which
it receives from financial institutions you do business with,
and stores it in a centralized database. They use the information
stored to generate a credit score which indicates to potential
lenders what level of risk they assume by lending you money. Equifax
scores do not use your income, net worth, race, religion, sex,
marital status, or age to compute your score. Equifax scores are
only based on what's in your credit report.
Equifax Beacon scores are calculated by using scoring models and
mathematical tables which award points based on information found
in your credit file. This score is a risk rating of how likely
you are, compared to the remainder of the people in the U.S.,
of fulfilling you debt obligation.
There are five main categories of credit information Equifax uses
to determine your credit score:
- Late payments, delinquencies, bankruptcies: The higher the
quantity, and the more recent the problem, the more Equifax
will penalize you.
- Length of credit history: A longer credit history makes
your future more predictable.
- Outstanding debt: High levels of debt will cause a lower
Beacon score, since Equifax will determine your ability to repay
the score to be lower.
- New applications for credit (inquiries): Equifax will consider
all inquiries within a 14 day period which are related to the
same type of loan (mortgage, auto, etc) as one inquiry, and
typically docs 5 points per hit in a 24 month window.
- Types of active credit: Having a high amount of revolving
debt, even if you do not have charges, may lower the score because
of your ability to increase your level of debt without further
application processes.
The best way to improve your Equifax credit
score is to correct any errors you may find in the report (contact
information provided below), pay your bills on time and apply
for credit sparingly. Equifax scoring formula ignores any reference
to credit counseling that may be in your file, since they have
noticed those obtaining counseling do not default on their debts
any more than those who have not received the counseling. However,
if you are undergoing credit counseling and thought you had an
agreement to pay a reduced amount to a creditor and you notice
the creditor has still marked you as paying late, Equifax will
not remove the late annotation from your account, and this will
hurt your credit score.
By managing your credit responsibly, companies like Equifax will
soon be your friend. Good reports by Equifax will not only get
you approved for a home loan or a new car loan, but they will
get you approved at a lower rate and save you money!
Equifax Consumer Services many be contacted using the information
provided below:
Equifax Information Services
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-800-685-1111
Equifax Consumer Services
www.equifax.com
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