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Transunion is the third largest credit reporting agency in the United States, after Experian and Equifax. Transunion was started in 1968 as a holding company for Union Tank Car Company, and grew out of acquisitions from city credit bureaus until it eventually became its own, privately held company in 2005. Transunion business credit reports, like its two larger competitors, are marketed directly to consumers.

Transunion business credit reports allow businesses to protect themselves when dealing with other businesses by giving them a solid piece of information about the registration and banking details of the business, any data regarding defaults that might have occurred in the business’ name, bond and property history and a general enquiry on the last three years of the business’ history. These reports serve an invaluable purpose to businesses across the United States.

Transunion shares its place among the “Big Three” credit reporting agencies with its rival giants, Experian and Equifax, which together provide the overwhelming bulk of credit reporting information. As of 2003, these three organizations are required to disclose, once per year, a full credit report to its clients as per the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FACTA). These free credit reports can be ascertained at www.annualcreditreport.com. While there is no federal obligation for these reporting agencies to disclose their Fair Isaac scores, they do provide entire credit profiles which explain in detail how creditworthy your profile is, what strikes are currently counting against you, and what steps you can take to improve your credit score.


This Business article was written by Mark Karavan on 11/28/2009