The information each credit bureau collects makes up your credit report for that particular bureau. In turn, the information on each bureau's credit report determines your credit score with that bureau. Your credit report information and the scores each bureau holds for you may vary. The credit bureaus utilize several different information gathering methods to ensure that each has as much pertinent financial data on you as possible.
Reporting Contracts
Much of the information that appears on your credit report has been inserted there directly by your creditors. Creditors must have an approved reporting contract with each credit bureau to which they wish to submit information about consumers. Because each bureau's criteria for awarding reporting contracts differs, the creditors whose data appears on each of your reports may also differ.
If approved, the information provider uses software and a membership ID number provided by each credit bureau to submit regular reports containing your name, Social Security number, account number and payment history. The reported information subsequently appears on your credit reports.
PACER
Some of the information on your credit report does not come directly from your creditors. In addition to credit cards, loans and collection accounts, your credit report also reflects certain public records, such as judgments and bankruptcies. The courts, however, do not hold reporting contracts with the credit bureaus.
Many court systems, when updating public records, make their public records databases available for online review by uploading information to the Public Access to Court Electronic Records database, or "PACER." The credit bureaus then pull the court records directly from PACER. If the name, Social Security number and date of birth for a new record match your own, the credit bureaus then insert the court record into your credit file.
Manual Review
While many court systems utilize PACER, not all do. The credit bureaus assign representatives to manually review public records databases in districts that do not report new court records to PACER. For this reason, court records from districts that do not submit online updates to PACER often take longer to appear on consumer credit reports.
Independent Records
While the credit bureaus each use the same information gathering methods, each bureau's policies regarding information gathering and the efficiency with which it maintains its records may differ. The credit bureaus do not share information about consumers with one another. Thus, a negative entry reflected by one bureau may not appear on your other credit reports. Because credit information varies by credit bureau, it's crucial that you pull all three of your reports when monitoring your credit for errors.
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