Specialty Consumer Reports

Almost everyone knows they have a credit report.  Did you know that you might have other consumer reports, too?  Often called specialty consumer reports, these firms collect and report information on your transactions with a wide range of businesses.  Reports may be compiled on your history of:

Banking
Renting
Utility payments
Phone bill payments
Car, homeowners, and renters insurance claims
Payday loans
Medical records and payments
Employment
Criminal activities

You may not even know you have these reports until you are denied a product, service, or a job.  For example, your application for a savings account at a bank or credit union may be denied because you have a negative banking history report.  This generally means you have bounced checks, owe fees to a bank or credit union, or have been engaged in or suspected of fraud with an account at a bank or credit union.

You can get free copies of some of these reports every 12 months just like you can get your reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion through annualcreditreport.com.

It’s important to note that in some cases, you will not have a report because:

There is no negative information to report on you.
The company you checked is not collecting information on you, but another company may be.

For example, there are four companies that collect and report information on your history with accounts:

ChexSystems
Early Warning Services
TeleCheck Services
Certegy Check Services

If you have had trouble in the past with an account or have been the victim of identity theft and financial fraud, you may want to consider checking to see if you have a report before applying for a savings or checking account.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains a list of these specialty consumer-reporting companies.  Consult this list for more information on the specialty consumer reporting companies that exist and how to contact them.