What is a credit reporting company?

Credit reporting companies collect credit account information about your borrowing and repayment history including:

• The original amount of a loan
• The credit limit on a credit card
• The balance on a credit card or other loan
• The payment status of the account including whether you have repaid your loans on time
• Items sent for collection
• Public records, such as bankruptcies
• History of late payments
• Delinquent accounts

Credit reporting companies can gather information from many sources, including thousands of lenders across the country, public records such as bankruptcies, and collection agencies which provide information on charged-off accounts.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that provides directions and limits on many core protections, including how credit reporting companies disclose credit report information. The FCRA also has provisions regulating users of consumer reports and furnishers of information to credit reporting companies. For example, the FCRA permits credit reporting companies to provide credit reports only to those users who have a permissible purpose listed in the law.

Other reporting companies, including specialty consumer reporting companies, may collect personal information other than credit information including, but not limited to, your employment and tenant history, as well as publicly available data.

Go to our browsable list of consumer reporting companies and read about your rights under the FCRA.

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