EQUIFAX CREDIT REPORTS & THEIR COMPANY HISTORY

» KEY FACTS

Equifax Inc. is a credit reference agency that employs approximately 7,000 people across 14 different countries worldwide. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX.

Although Equifax provides credit reporting solutions to businesses, the company is primarily known for credit reporting and monitoring services to individuals. Here in the UK, Equifax’s competitors in the consumer credit report market are Experian and Callcredit.

Equifax’s main competitors in the company credit report market are Dun & Bradstreet, Graydon, Experian, ICC and UK Data.

» EQUIFAX COMPANY HISTORY

Equifax was founded back in 1899 as the Retail Credit Company, originally formed to hold credit bureaus data on American and Canadian citizens. In the early days, the data that was held by credit bureaus in the USA often included financial facts and statistics as well as general knowledge on many aspects of an individuals life. However, individuals were unable to see what information was actually on their credit records, so wouldn’t of been able to correct any mistakes on their files.

1970 in America saw the release of the Fair US Credit Reporting Act. This enabled consumers to access their credit reports and correct any wrongful information. This Act coincided with Retail Credit Company computerising all credit files.

1975 saw the Retail Credit Company rebrand itself as Equifax in order for customers to understand that the company was solely reporting factual information about individuals, as well as demonstrating transparency in their operations.

1989 saw Equifax enter the UK credit reference agency market. Here the company continued to build upon it’s success of reporting accurate credit information to businesses, as well as providing access to that credit information to those individuals affected. Today Equifax provides credit information to a range of business sectors, which include; financial services, retail, healthcare, telecommunications/utilities, brokerage, insurance and government departments.

» EQUIFAX PRODUCTS

Today, Equifax sells a range of products and services to businesses and consumers alike. These prodcusts include business credit reports, demographic information and marketing data, consumer credit reports and identity theft protection.

In the US, credit reference agencies are obliged to give consumers a free credit report every year (under the Fair Credit Reporting Act). This is not the case in the UK. Consumers can purchase a statutory credit report on themselves from any of the 3 credit reference agencies. However, if consumers in the UK act intelligently, they are able to get a free copy of their credit report.

To see a full list of Equifax consumer credit reporting products, and information on how to get access to a free copy of your credit report CLICK HERE

» To order your personal Equifax Credit Report: CLICK HERE NOW!