Equifax online free credit report

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Equifax, Inc. (NYSE: EFX) is a leading consumer credit reporting firm in the US, considered one of the "big three" credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit holders worldwide. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is a global service provider with over $1.5 billion in annual revenue and approximately 5,000 employees on 3 continents and in 14 countries.

 Services for Businesses

For most of its existence, Equifax has operated primarily in the business-to-business sector, providing consumer credit reports and related analytics to businesses in a range of industries. Business customers include retailers, insurance firms, healthcare providers, utilities, government agencies, as well as banks and other financial institutions.

Equifax provides its business customers with credit reports, analytics, demographic data, and decisioning platforms. Credit reports provide detailed information on the personal credit and payment history of individuals, indicating how they have honored financial obligations such as paying bills or repaying a loan. Businesses then use this information to decide what sort of products or services to offer their customers, and on what terms.

For example, a bank considering a person for a mortgage loan will use the information in the person’s credit report in order to determine his or her track record for paying off debt. A person with strong credit will likely receive loan terms (interest rate, loan size, etc) that are more favorable than for someone with weaker credit.

In general, a good credit history is a strong predictor of a person’s likelihood to repay a loan or to manage a credit account responsibly. Thus, having good credit generally enables consumers to obtain credit or financing on favorable terms. From mortgage lending to retail credit card offers, virtually all financial activities depend on the availability of consumer credit information. Equifax’s credit reporting services are valuable to both businesses and consumers, because they provide the information necessary to enable the granting of credit or financing.

 Products for General Consumers

Although its long history is rooted in the industry of business-to-business consumer credit reporting, Equifax also operates extensively within the consumer products space. Beginning in 1999, Equifax began offering products to empower consumers to understand and monitor their credit history. These consumer products are designed to educate consumers about their credit health, help consumers understand the creditworthy behaviors that will enable them to establish and maintain strong credit, and alert consumers to the possibility of their being a victim of credit fraud or identity theft.

The products offered by Equifax include credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and score monitoring. Some of Equifax’s products include identity fraud expense coverage.

Knowledge of their credit score and the contents of their credit reports enables consumers to know where they stand with potential creditors and lenders. Knowing that their score is low enlightens a consumer that they need to engage in more credit responsible behaviors. Knowing that a score is high encourages a consumer to continue engaging in these credit responsible behaviors. Knowing of the key changes that are made to their credit file empowers consumers to take action when one of those changes is indicative of potential fraud or identity theft. In all of these ways, credit knowledge is power.

Equifax’s products are generally provided as one-time purchases of online reports or monthly or annual monitoring subscriptions made available through the Equifax website:  . Additionally, consumers are entitled to one free credit file disclosure in a 12 month period, which may be requested on-line at

 How Credit Reporting Works… And Why It’s Important

There are 2 aspects to Equifax’s business: consumer credit products (discussed above) and consumer credit reporting.

Credit reporting agencies like Equifax gather, store, and update information about the credit history of individual consumers based upon information that is reported by third parties. This information is then compiled into a consumer credit report, which is a summary of a person’s credit history. Businesses may purchase this information from credit reporting agencies but only for purposes expressly permitted by law, such as evaluating a consumer’s application for a loan, credit, service, or employment, and some other business and legal uses.

Also associated with a person’s credit history, though not part of the credit report, is a number called the credit score. The most commonly used credit score is the FICO® credit score, which is used by over 70% of the nation's creditors to make financial decisions about consumers.

Based on information in a person’s credit report, a credit score is a mathematical model used to predict how likely a person is to repay a loan. For the FICO® credit score, the scores range from 300 to 850, with higher scores considered better. The majority of credit scores fall within the 600s and 700s. The credit score provides a fast and objective way to evaluate an individual’s creditworthiness, or level of responsibility with credit.Additional disclosures (free and/or fee-based) may be available under federal and state law.

Credit Reporting Agencies: Consumer Concern

Consumer credit reporting is sometimes viewed with skepticism by consumers due to some cases of errors in data.

Equifax, however, appears to have taken great strides towards maintaining an ethical company culture and providing an infrastructure (toll free number and websites) through which consumers can dispute errors in their credit reports.