Why Do All Three Credit Report Contain Different Information?

Question: I ordered my credit report from the three credit bureaus but I find that the information on them is different. Why is it so?

Answer: As you are aware that there are three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They are separate entities and receive data from different lenders and creditors et al. A lender who is reporting to Equifax may not necessarily report the same information to the other two bureaus and there is no law that makes it mandatory for him to do so.

While most of the major companies and creditors report the information to all the three bureaus, the difference comes in the reporting of the smaller companies. Therefore, there may be information that one bureau has and the other two may not have.

Another reason is that when you apply for credit and the lender pulls out one credit report, there is an inquiry on the credit report of that bureau. Notice that only one bureau has the updated information of your having applied for credit. This works similarly in all cases.