Credit Bureau
Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — the three nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies.
A credit bureau (also called a credit reporting agency or CRA) is one of the three nationwide companies that aggregate consumer credit data from furnishers and produce consumer credit reports: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each bureau maintains its own database; reports often differ across bureaus because not all furnishers report to all three.
FCRA disputes are filed with the bureau (or directly with the furnisher under §623(a)(8)). Best practice: send paper Certified disputes to all three bureaus simultaneously when an item appears on multiple files.
Bureau dispute addresses: Equifax — P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374-0256; Experian — P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013; TransUnion — P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016.
Also called
Related terms
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681 — federal law governing how credit reporting works.
A single account record on a credit report. Each credit card, loan, mortgage, or collection is its own tradeline.
Any entity that reports consumer credit data to credit bureaus — banks, lenders, collectors, etc.
Run the Cougar Method on your credit file.
CreditCougar drafts FCRA-compliant dispute letters tuned to your specific situation. $29.95/mo. $1 7-day trial.
Start the hunt — $1 trial