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.
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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
1-800-685-1111Equifax Consumer Services
www.equifax.com
