Reporting Accounts to the Credit Bureaus

Your credit report should reflect an accurate picture of your payment history but, often it does not. Most major creditors supply payment history to the three main credit-reporting agencies, but smaller creditors such as local retailers, credit unions, gasoline creditors, and medical offices often do not. Consider a few steps to take to report your debts to the credit bureaus.

Things You'll Need
Computer with Internet access
Credit report
List of all debts (including account numbers, original and current balances, and monthly payments)

Step 1
Make sure you have a current credit report. Go online to AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site to obtain your free online credit report from the three nationwide credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Print the reports from each of the credit bureaus.

Step 2
Compare your list of debts with each of the credit reports and check for errors. If you notice inconsistencies, complete dispute forms online with each of the credit bureaus.

Step 3
If you have debts that do not appear on your credit report, contact each of your creditors to request that your accounts be added to all of the credit-reporting agencies. Provide supporting documentation, as requested, but never send originals.

Step 4
Contact all three credit bureaus to request that your unreported accounts be added to your credit file. Make sure you keep copies of all correspondence, especially receipts showing your payment history. The contact information for the three credit-reporting agencies is:

Equifax Inc.
 
 
 

P.O. Box 740241 
 
 

Atlanta, GA 30374 
 
 

(888) 685-1111 
 
 

equifax.com

 

 



TransUnion 
 
 

2 Baldwin Place 
 
 

P.O. Box 2000 
 
 

Chester, PA 19022 
 
 

(800) 888-4213 
 
 

transunion.com

 

 



Experian
 
 
 

P.O. Box 9595 
 
 

Allen, TX 75013 
 
 

(888) 397-3742 
 
 

experian.com

Resources:

AnnualCreditReport.com: Free Annual Credit Reports
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

FTC.gov: Adding Accounts to your File
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm

Equifax.com: Credit Report FAQs
http://www.equifax.com/cs/Satellite/EFX_Content_C1/1172608896725/5-1/5-1_Layout.htm?packedargs=Locale%3Den_US

TransUnion.com: Credit Dispute FAQs
http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/creditDisputes/creditDisputeFAQs.page