Getting to the Number That Matters Most

The three national credit bureaus are for-profit competitors regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under federal law, consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report from each of the three bureaus each year. Consumers can get their credit reports at http://annualcreditreport.com.

Lenders also use credit scores to determine whether to extend credit to consumers and at what interest rate. The majority of lenders use the FICO score, developed by what was formerly known as Fair Isaac. Here is a rundown of the scores:

FICO: This is the score that most lenders use. Consumers can buy them at http://myFICO.com.

Equifax: The bureau has chosen to offer only FICO scores to consumers at http://Equifax.comwhen they sign up for a credit monitoring service.

Experian: The bureau has developed its own score known as a Plus score. Consumers can get that score when they sign up for a credit monitoring service at http://Freecreditreport.com. The Plus score is not sold to lenders.
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TransUnion: The bureau has developed its own score. Consumers can get that score when they sign up for a credit monitoring service at http://TrueCredit.com. Lenders can also buy these scores.

VantageScore: A score developed by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and sold to lenders to compete with the FICO score.


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