Experian

Experian began as a credit information bureau for automotive parts specialist Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge in the early 1960s. As of 2009, Experian had the largest market share for monthly credit monitoring of the "big 3" credit reporting agencies.

TransUnion

TransUnion grew out of a rail car leasing company called Union Tank Car Company in 1968. During the late 1960s, TransUnion became the first credit agency to store consumer data on discs, greatly speeding up reporting time.

Equifax

Cator and Guy Woolford started Equifax in 1898 when they began determining the creditworthiness of clients for the Retail Grocer's Association. In 1989, Equifax (with the Fair Isaac Corporation) developed the modern FICO score, the most widely used score for creditworthiness, according to the Public Broadcasting System.

Misconceptions

The major credit agencies do not make determinations of a person's creditworthiness, but simply give information to lenders who then examine the information when deciding whether to offer a loan.

Tips

As of 2010, U.S. federal law declares that the three major reporting agencies must provide each citizen at least one free credit report per year.

Source:

Public Broadcasting System: "Credit Scores--What You Should Know About Your Own"

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: "How Private Is My Credit Report?"

"The New York Times": "A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill"