TransUnion Credit Score®
TransUnion is second oldest credit bureau in the United States. It originated in 1968 as part of the rail industry as a leasing company for railcars. The Chicago-based Corporation came into the world of consumer credit and finance with the 1969 acquisition of the local Credit Bureau of Cook County (CBCC).
With the acquisition of CBCC, TransUnion led the way to modernizing the way in which information was reported. They automated the process from old-fashioned card files kept to filing cabinets to the then state-of-the-art method of tape-to-disc transfer. They were also the first credit bureau to establish a way to store and obtain information online.
TransUnion Annual Reports
Like the two other major credit bureaus, TransUnion offers its credit services information to lenders. They also provide access to consumer credit reports directly via the government’s AnnualCreditReport.com website and through their own website (TransUnion.com). TransUnion considers the following factors when generating the TransUnion annual report:- Your history of payments (if you have been on time or late)
- If you have outstanding debt (they recommend that you have balances under 35 percent of your credit limit)
- Your credit account history (generally, the more established you are, the more attractive you are to a lender)
- If you have had any recent inquires on your credit (every time a lender checks your credit score, it shows as what’s known as a hard inquiry, which can cause a drop in your scores)
- The types of credit you have (a mixture of credit card accounts and loans typically indicates healthy credit)