I understand that there are 3 major credit reporting bureaus. I also understand there are secondary reporting agencies like Innovis, SageStream, CoreLogic, ARS, LexisNexis, ChexSystem, etc...
I pulled my consumer reports from these secondary companies and compared to the 3 major credit bureaus, they have a lot more information on me than the main 3. On TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, I just have one name, one address, one employer, and one phone number. On these secondary companies I have a lot more adddresses, some I never lived at, some I have, mispelled names, etc...
In respect to the 3 major bureaus, obviously these issues are important to correct, because these bureaus report credit scores to lenders, etc... But....... I have heard that these inaccurate addresses, names, on these secondary companies can affect the 3 main bureaus when applying for loans, credit cards etc...
Basically what I am asking is. Should I worry about any of these secondary beaurus, freezing, or correcting info, or just worry about the main 3, even though Innovis is considered by some as the 4th beaurus, despite reporting a score.
I froze them all... one time I couldn't get a prequal (Truist) and just decided to be ok with it... they couldn't see LN.
@gloverkevin wrote:I understand that there are 3 major credit reporting bureaus. I also understand there are secondary reporting agencies like Innovis, SageStream, CoreLogic, ARS, LexisNexis, ChexSystem, etc...
I pulled my consumer reports from these secondary companies and compared to the 3 major credit bureaus, they have a lot more information on me than the main 3. On TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, I just have one name, one address, one employer, and one phone number. On these secondary companies I have a lot more adddresses, some I never lived at, some I have, mispelled names, etc...
In respect to the 3 major bureaus, obviously these issues are important to correct, because these bureaus report credit scores to lenders, etc... But....... I have heard that these inaccurate addresses, names, on these secondary companies can affect the 3 main bureaus when applying for loans, credit cards etc...
Basically what I am asking is. Should I worry about any of these secondary beaurus, freezing, or correcting info, or just worry about the main 3, even though Innovis is considered by some as the 4th beaurus, despite reporting a score.
If you want to be a perfectionist, yes. For me, there's just not enough time in the day for me to fret about them.
I froze mine awhile ago. I figure that if I am applying for credit somewhere and they deny me because one of the secondaries was frozen, I will just move on.
At one point in time, my credit profile was cross-riddled with addresses that belonged to, or once belonged to, my immediate and extended family members. Never once had I lived at any of these addresses.
At first, I didn't care. Because I was familiar with the addresses.
But than everytime I started being asked "identity questions", it would pool from THEIR data points; names, addresses, mortgages, car loans, phone numbers, etc. Sometimes I knew the answers, like "What street did I (in reality my uncle) live on in 2005"; but often times I didn't. It started becoming so that I didn't know any of the answers and I was failing all the identity questions.
It got bad enough that with Sagestream, etc, that I ended up having to write LOE's when I bought my first house. Big headache. I ended up spending a year cleaning all that stuff up. It's still not perfect and it will probably never will be. But 99% of my issues went away.
@gloverkevin wrote:I understand that there are 3 major credit reporting bureaus. I also understand there are secondary reporting agencies like Innovis, SageStream, CoreLogic, ARS, LexisNexis, ChexSystem, etc...
I pulled my consumer reports from these secondary companies and compared to the 3 major credit bureaus, they have a lot more information on me than the main 3. On TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, I just have one name, one address, one employer, and one phone number. On these secondary companies I have a lot more adddresses, some I never lived at, some I have, mispelled names, etc...
In respect to the 3 major bureaus, obviously these issues are important to correct, because these bureaus report credit scores to lenders, etc... But....... I have heard that these inaccurate addresses, names, on these secondary companies can affect the 3 main bureaus when applying for loans, credit cards etc...
Basically what I am asking is. Should I worry about any of these secondary beaurus, freezing, or correcting info, or just worry about the main 3, even though Innovis is considered by some as the 4th beaurus, despite reporting a score.
This thread inspired me to check into these 3 lesser known credit bureaus. And I'm glad I did.
The Innovis report was fine, but the Sagestream report was a monstrosity. It's clearly the reason why, when I'm being authenticated with questions from a credit report, I'm offered up addresses and phone numbers which have never been mine. And there are loads of companies with which I have supposedly been "associated" with which I have never been "associated". I've disputed a boatload of erroneous entries. It will be interesting to see if they are responsible about correcting or removing erroneous entries. Somehow I doubt that they will be, since they are so lax about filling up their report with nonsense.
I haven't seen the Chex report yet.
@OmarR wrote:At one point in time, my credit profile was cross-riddled with addresses that belonged to, or once belonged to, my immediate and extended family members. Never once had I lived at any of these addresses.
At first, I didn't care. Because I was familiar with the addresses.
But than everytime I started being asked "identity questions", it would pool from THEIR data points; names, addresses, mortgages, car loans, phone numbers, etc. Sometimes I knew the answers, like "What street did I (in reality my uncle) live on in 2005)"; but often times I didn't. It started becoming so that I didn't know any of the answers and I was failing all the identity questions.
It got bad enough that with Sagestream, etc, that I ended up having to write LOE's when I bought my first house. Big headache. I ended up spending a year cleaning all that stuff up. It's still not perfect and it will probably never will be. But 99% of my issues went away.
Thanks @OmarR, the points you make here woke me up to the importance of my getting rid of that stuff too. I ordered my Sagestream report and it turned out be completely insane, containing all kinds of phone numbers and addresses which are not mine, and business associations which are not mine. So I've disputed all the errors I spotted, and hope that they act responsibly in removing those which have nothing to do with me and correcting those which are wrong.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@OmarR wrote:At one point in time, my credit profile was cross-riddled with addresses that belonged to, or once belonged to, my immediate and extended family members. Never once had I lived at any of these addresses.
At first, I didn't care. Because I was familiar with the addresses.
But than everytime I started being asked "identity questions", it would pool from THEIR data points; names, addresses, mortgages, car loans, phone numbers, etc. Sometimes I knew the answers, like "What street did I (in reality my uncle) live on in 2005)"; but often times I didn't. It started becoming so that I didn't know any of the answers and I was failing all the identity questions.
It got bad enough that with Sagestream, etc, that I ended up having to write LOE's when I bought my first house. Big headache. I ended up spending a year cleaning all that stuff up. It's still not perfect and it will probably never will be. But 99% of my issues went away.
Thanks @OmarR, the points you make here woke me up to the importance of my getting rid of that stuff too. I ordered my Sagestream report and it turned out be completely insane, containing all kinds of phone numbers and addresses which are not mine, and business associations which are not mine. So I've disputed all the errors I spotted, and hope that they act responsibly in removing those which have nothing to do with me and correcting those which are wrong.
Oh, I believe it!
When the identity questions started referencing an Aunt, that my Uncle divorced almost 30 years ago, is when I finally was fed up with it all. I don't know where that b*tch lives, and I didn't even like her when she was in my family! No fricken clue what year she was born.
Even worse:
I don't remember which one it was (probably Lex), but my "known associates" were my neighbors. And my report included THEIR full names and the last 4 of their SS numbers. I don't even know all of my neighbors, but I now have the last 4 of their social simply because we live on the same street?!?