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What is the Best Way to Contact Credit Bureaus?

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

Many people understand that it is a good idea to secure a copy of their credit report at least on an annual basis. However, not everyone knows how to go about identifying the credit bureaus that monitor credit activity in their home country or how to work with those bureaus to correct any discrepancies found on the reports. In general, the best way to contact credit bureaus is directly, rather than relying on a third party to handle the communication.

Your first step in learning how to get in touch with credit bureaus is to acquire the names and general contact information for the bureaus operating in your country. Many countries have more than on authoritative bureau in operation. For example, the United States is home to three main credit bureaus, meaning that US citizens will need credit bureaus contact info for each of the three.

Bankers may be able to supply contact information for credit bureaus.
Bankers may be able to supply contact information for credit bureaus.

One easy way to obtain that data is to talk with your local banker. The bank can supply you with telephone numbers, mailing addresses and even physical addresses you can use to contact credit bureaus relevant to your location. In some instances, they may also be able to provide you with forms that must be completed and returned to the bureaus in order to obtain a copy of your credit report.

Most credit bureaus will accept credit report requests over the phone.
Most credit bureaus will accept credit report requests over the phone.

It is not unusual for credit bureau contact information to also include a website. However, this is where the consumer should exercise a great deal of caution. There are a number of copycat web sites that promise to help you secure a credit report from one or more bureaus with no charge. However, the assistance often comes with the offer of a credit monitoring service that involves a monthly or annual fee. If you don’t take steps to cancel this service after the free introductory period, you may find the free assistance was much more costly than you ever imagined.

Instead of possibly getting confused by a third party provider, contact credit bureaus directly. Most credit bureaus around the country will accept written requests for the data or even process requests over the phone if you can provide details that help to establish your identity. While on the phone, ask if the bureau operates a web site of their own. If so, add the data to your list of credit bureau contact info and visit the site. In future, you may be able to use the sites to contact credit bureaus for periodic updates or to contest erroneous information that appears on your reports.

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including WiseGEEK, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

Learn more...
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including WiseGEEK, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon349739

Is it legal for credit bureaus to withhold their mailing address to submit a dispute? Where can you get a current address for each. Are they required by law to provide a current address somewhere? Depending on where you look, each bureau shows multiple addresses.

Mykol

@John57 - That is a good tip about the best way to get the 3 credit bureaus' contact info. It seems like there are always advertisements and pop ups on my computer about finding out what my credit score is.

When I have contacted the credit bureaus I am given the option of giving the information over the phone or in writing.

You have to answer questions like how long you have lived at your current address. I have also been given the option of only having the last four digits of my social security shown on the report they send me.

This is a good thing to do so your full social security number is not floating around in the mail.

John57

@andee - That is a good idea to order credit reports on a rotating basis like that. One thing people might not realize is these free reports won't give you what your credit score is.

I think you might have to actually pay to know what your score is. The credit report will just show all the recent activity on your accounts so you can monitor what is happening.

If you want to contact the 3 credit bureaus I would go online and make sure you have the official website of each company. Make sure you get your contact information from this website and don't rely on others to give you this information.

Identity theft can happen too easily if your information gets in the hands of the wrong people.

andee

You have to be really careful because there are a lot of credit bureau scams out there. Most people think they have to pay for a credit report, and you don't!

You can receive one free report per year from each of the three major credit report companies. What I do is order a report from a different reporting bureau every 4 months.

I keep track of this on a rotating basis, but this way every 4 months I get a free credit report. This is important to make sure there is nothing fraudulent happening on any of your accounts.

strawCake

I think the easiest way to find information about contacting the credit bureaus to do credit disputes is to just look online. There's no reason to take a trip to your local bank when you can find pretty much any information you need online!

Just do a search for "credit bureaus" or you can search for them by their specific names. This should make it extremely easy to contact the credit bureaus.

indemnifyme

@sunnySkys -Good info. I think we've all been sucked in by one of those website that promises a free report at one time or another. Most people really freak out about their credit and I can't say that I blame them.

Anyway, if you're going to contact the Credit Report Bureaus, make sure to keep a written record. Write down which bureau you called, what time you called, who you spoke to, and what you spoke about. Also keep copies of any written correspondence. It's a good idea just to have for your own records, and especially if you're trying to dispute something that's on your credit report.

sunnySkys

Most people aren't aware of this, but you can get one free copy of your credit report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus every year. I believe there is one specific website you can get your reports from that is authorized by the government.

As the article said, the other website that offer you a free report in exchange for a monthly fee later are for profit websites. They claim to want to help you with your credit, but what they really want is to take your money! You can get your reports for free and then try to fix your credit yourself!

orangey03

@shell4life – Now that you have all the three credit bureau's contact information, you can ease your mind about fraudulent companies. I made sure to only use these three, because I had been burned in the past by other websites.

So, you need to send them a copy of your birth certificate and driver's license. You also should write down your Social Security number, address, name, and phone number. This should be enough for them to believe that you are who you say you are.

If they have any questions, I'm sure they will mail you a letter back asking for more information or call you. They called me just to double check that I had indeed requested a credit report, and I was glad that they were being so careful about sending it out.

shell4life

I have never requested a credit report from any agency, since I know that I have good credit. However, I have seen the many websites out there that offer free credit reports, and I am wary of all of them.

Last month, my husband convinced me that I should obtain a credit report, just to make sure that no false information was on there that could hinder us from getting a loan to buy a house one day. I did a search online and found that three major credit bureaus were listed the most often, so I figured that these were the real ones.

I'm a little shy about talking to them over the phone, so I want to make my request in writing. What all do I need to include in order to prove my identity?

seag47

I got sucked into a monthly credit monitoring scam while trying to get a free credit report. Since I know that I owe a lot of money to my credit card company, I wanted to save money in every way possible, and getting a free report sounded great to me.

However, I didn't cancel the service in time, and I wound up stuck with the fee. I called the company to cancel, and they said they would take care of it. I got a billed for the same fee the following month, and it was a big hassle to actually get the service canceled.

So, the credit report really wasn't free, after all. I learned my lesson, and I asked my bank for the number of a real credit bureau.

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    • Bankers may be able to supply contact information for credit bureaus.
      By: cristovao31
      Bankers may be able to supply contact information for credit bureaus.
    • Most credit bureaus will accept credit report requests over the phone.
      By: Wrangler
      Most credit bureaus will accept credit report requests over the phone.