Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three nationwide credit bureaus. Each keeps its own file on you, built from data lenders and collectors send it, so an error can appear on one report and not the others. Each has the same duties under the Fair Credit Reporting Act: reasonable procedures for accuracy, a free annual report, and a 30-day reinvestigation when you dispute. A dispute must go to each bureau that reports the error.
Most people think of "the credit bureau" as one thing. It is three separate companies with three separate files, and a mortgage lender may pull all three while a card issuer pulls one. Understanding how data gets into those files, and how a dispute gets back out to the lender that sent it, explains why errors persist and why the Fair Credit Reporting Act puts duties on both the bureau and the furnisher.
What the three bureaus are
The FCRA defines a consumer reporting agency as a company that, for a fee, regularly assembles or evaluates consumer information to furnish reports to third parties (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f)). Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the agencies that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis (§ 1681a(p)), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes them as the three major consumer reporting companies. Separate nationwide specialty agencies keep files on tenant history, employment history, check writing, medical records and insurance claims (§ 1681a(w)); see tenant screening and background checks.
Duties every bureau has
- Accuracy. Reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy (§ 1681e(b)).
- Disclosure. On request, all information in your file and its sources (§ 1681g(a)); free once every 12 months through the central source (§ 1681j(a)(1)).
- Reinvestigation. A reasonable reinvestigation within 30 days of your dispute (§ 1681i(a)(1)).
- Identity theft block. Within 4 business days of the required package (§ 1681c-2(a)).
- Time limits. Most negative items off after 7 years; bankruptcies after 10 (§ 1681c(a)).
- Permissible purpose. Reports only to users with a purpose the Act allows (§ 1681b(f)).
How a dispute travels
- You send the dispute to the bureau. In writing, with proof. The 30 days start when the bureau receives it (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A)).
- The bureau notifies the furnisher. Within 5 business days, with all relevant information about the dispute that it received from you (§ 1681i(a)(2)(A)).
- The furnisher investigates. It must investigate, review all relevant information the bureau provided, and report the results back (§ 1681s-2(b)(1)), within the bureau's reinvestigation period (§ 1681s-2(b)(2)).
- The furnisher corrects every bureau. If the information is inaccurate or incomplete, it must report that to every nationwide bureau it furnished it to (§ 1681s-2(b)(1)(D)), and modify, delete or block it (§ 1681s-2(b)(1)(E)).
- The bureau decides and tells you. It must consider what you sent (§ 1681i(a)(4)), delete or correct what is inaccurate or unverifiable (§ 1681i(a)(5)(A)), and send written results within 5 business days after finishing (§ 1681i(a)(6)).
- If deleted, it stays deleted. Unless the furnisher certifies the item as complete and accurate, with written notice to you within 5 business days of any reinsertion (§ 1681i(a)(5)(B)).
The weak point is the hand-off. If the bureau passes on a summary without your documents, or accepts the furnisher's "verified" without weighing what you sent, the reinvestigation may not be reasonable. If the furnisher only checks that its records match what it reported, its investigation may not be either. Both are covered on the failed dispute page.
The public record
This site names a company as a wrongdoer only on the strength of a public court decision or agency order. Three are relevant here.
TransUnion: TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 594 U.S. 413 (2021)
TransUnion flagged consumers as a "potential match" to names on a Treasury Department terrorism list by comparing only first and last names. The Supreme Court held that the 1,853 class members whose flagged reports were sent to businesses had standing to sue, and the 6,332 whose files were never sent did not. The case is now the leading rule on FCRA standing.
Equifax: CFPB order, January 17, 2025
The CFPB ordered Equifax to pay a $15 million civil money penalty, finding that it ignored documents consumers submitted with disputes, let previously deleted inaccuracies reappear, sent confusing results letters, and reported duplicate accounts (CFPB press release).
TransUnion and Equifax: CFPB orders, January 3, 2017
The CFPB ordered TransUnion to pay $13.9 million in restitution and a $3 million civil penalty, and Equifax $3.8 million in restitution and a $2.5 million civil penalty, for deceptive marketing of credit scores and credit products (CFPB press release).
These are public findings about specific conduct at specific times. They do not mean any bureau handled your dispute wrongly; your own dispute record answers that.
What you can recover
A bureau that willfully fails to comply with the FCRA is liable for actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages (15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)); one that is negligent, for actual damages (§ 1681o(a)). Willful includes reckless disregard (Safeco Ins. Co. of America v. Burr, 551 U.S. 47 (2007)). The FCRA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Under Ramirez, you need a concrete harm, such as a report actually sent to a lender, landlord or employer.
What to do now
- Pull all three. Compare the same account across each report.
- Dispute with each bureau that has the error. Use the address or online portal each bureau lists for disputes, or the one printed on your report.
- Keep three separate files. One per bureau: letter, proof, delivery receipt, results.
- Follow the steps. The dispute page has the checklist and the 30-day count.
The clock
Earlier of 2 years from discovery or 5 years from the violation
An FCRA claim against a bureau must be filed within 2 years after you discover the violation and no later than 5 years after it (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). Each bureau's handling is a separate question with its own dates. See deadlines.
In New York, New Jersey and Florida
The three bureaus operate nationally and the federal duties apply in every state. In New York, the state fair credit reporting act (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 380) bars an agency from reporting information it has reason to know is inaccurate or reporting medical debt (§ 380-j(a)), and provides damages, costs and fees for noncompliance (§§ 380-l, 380-m). In New Jersey and Florida, the federal Act carries claims against the bureaus. See New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Common questions
Do I have to dispute with all three bureaus?
Dispute with each bureau that reports the error. They keep separate files and a dispute with one does not make the others reinvestigate. A furnisher that finds its data was wrong after a bureau's notice must correct it with every nationwide bureau it reports to (15 U.S.C. section 1681s-2(b)(1)(D)), but do not rely on that alone.
Why is my report different at each bureau?
Lenders and collectors are not required to report to all three, and they send updates on their own schedules. The bureaus also match incoming data to files in their own ways. Differences are normal; errors are not.
Can I sue Equifax, Experian or TransUnion?
Any consumer reporting agency that willfully or negligently fails to meet the FCRA's requirements can be sued (15 U.S.C. sections 1681n, 1681o). Whether you have a claim depends on what the bureau did with your report and your dispute, and whether it caused you concrete harm.
How do I get my free reports?
Once every 12 months from each nationwide bureau through the central source, AnnualCreditReport.com (15 U.S.C. section 1681j(a)(1)), and free within 60 days after a company turns you down based on a report (section 1681j(b)).
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.