| Equifax Inc. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Corporation (NYSE:EFX) |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Industry | Business Services, Consumer Services |
| Revenue | $1. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services 5 Billion USD (2005) |
| Employees | 7,000+ |
| Website | www.equifax.com |
Equifax Inc. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages (NYSE: EFX) is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the big three American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. A credit bureau (US or credit reference agency (UK is a company that collects information from various sources and provides consumer Credit information on individual The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Experian plc ( formerly known as CCN Systems is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries TransUnion ( Trans Union LLC) is a Consumer credit reporting agency, considered one of the three largest in the United States, which offers credit-related Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit holders worldwide. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is a global service provider with US $1. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule 5 billion in annual revenue and 7,000+ employees in 14 countries.
Contents |
History
Equifax was founded as Retail Credit Company in 1899. The company grew quickly and by 1920 had offices throughout the US and Canada. By the 1960s, Retail Credit Company was one of the nation's largest credit bureaus, holding files on millions of American citizens.
Retail Credit Company's extensive information holdings, and its willingness to sell them to anyone, attracted criticism of the company in the 1960s and 1970s. These included that it collected ". . . facts, statistics, inaccuracies and rumors… about virtually every phase of a person's life; his marital troubles, jobs, school history, childhood, sex life, and political activities. " The company was also alleged to reward its employees for collecting negative information on consumers. [1]
As a result, when the company moved to computerise its records, which would lead to much wider availability of the personal information it held, the US Congress held hearings in 1970. These led to the enactment of the Fair US Credit Reporting Act in the same year which gave consumers rights regarding information stored about them in corporate databanks. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA is an American federal Law (codified at et seq (It is alleged that the hearings prompted the Retail Credit Company to change its name to Equifax in 1975 to improve its image. )[1]
The company has been fined by the Federal Trade Commission on two occasions for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In 2000, Equifax along with Experian and Trans Union were fined US$2. 5 million for blocking and delaying phone calls from consumers trying to get information about their credit In 2003, the FTC took Equifax to court for the same reason and settled its lawsuit with the company for a fine of US$250,000. [2] [3].
The company later expanded into commercial credit reports on companies in the US, Canada and the UK, where it came into competition with companies such as Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. The company also had a division selling specialist credit information to the insurance industry but spun off this service, including the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) database as ChoicePoint in 1997. ChoicePoint ( is a data aggregation company based in Alpharetta, near Atlanta Georgia, United States that acts as a private intelligence service to government and The company formerly offered digital certification services, which it sold to GeoTrust in September 2001. In the same year, Equifax spun-off its payment services division, forming the publicly-listed company Certegy, which subsequently acquired Fidelity National Information Services in 2006. Certegy was a public corporation created in 2001 when Equifax spun-off their payment services division Fidelity National Information Services Inc ( also known as FNIS or FIS, is a publicly traded corporation that provides core processing for financial institutions Certegy effectively became a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial as a result of this reverse acquisition merger (See Certegy and Fidelity National Information Services for further information). '''Fidelity National Financial Incorporated''' ( FNF, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA (formerly in Santa Barbara CA) is a Fortune Certegy was a public corporation created in 2001 when Equifax spun-off their payment services division Fidelity National Information Services Inc ( also known as FNIS or FIS, is a publicly traded corporation that provides core processing for financial institutions
Products
For most of its existence, Equifax has operated primarily in the business-to-business sector, selling consumer credit reports and related analytics to businesses in a range of industries. Business customers include retailers, insurance firms, healthcare providers, utilities, government agencies, as well as banks and other financial institutions. Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money
Equifax sells businesses credit reports, analytics, demographic data, and software. Demographics or demographic data refers to selected population characteristics as used in government Marketing or opinion research or the Demographic profiles Credit reports provide detailed information on the personal credit and payment history of individuals, indicating how they have honored financial obligations such as paying bills or repaying a loan. A loan is a type of Debt. This article focuses exclusively on monetary loans although in practice any material object might be lent Businesses then use this information to decide what sort of products or services to offer their customers, and on what terms.
Beginning in 1999, Equifax began offering products that help people monitor their credit history, including alerting consumers to the possibility of their being a victim of credit fraud or identity theft. Equifax, and other credit monitoring agencies are required by law to provide US citizens with one free credit file disclosure every 12 months, which may be requested on-line at Annualcreditreport.com. Annualcreditreportcom is a Website jointly operated by the three major U
Equifax Credit Watch
Equifax also sells online reports and a subscription services for credit monitoring. Registered members can log into the Credit Watch web site and obtain reports, set alert preferences, and manage Credit Lock settings. [1]
Credit Lock
Equifax also offers a credit lock service that prevents or limits inquiries into subscribers credit reports. Subscribers to the credit lock service can set their preferences for access to their credit report. It can be set for access to all inquiries for a specified duration or set for selective access by specific organizations using a PIN system. Similar services are being offered by other credit bureaus and third party companies such as LifeLock.
Credit score
Associated with a person’s credit history, though not part of the credit report, is a number called a credit score, which is a mathematical model used to predict how likely a person is to repay a loan. A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files to represent the Creditworthiness of that person The score is based on information in a person’s credit report. This information is obtained from credit lenders from which the consumers have borrowed in the past. Equifax is an agency which is collecting information which may be used by the credit lenders to decide if a loan applicant is reliable enough to be qualified for a loan. For example, a private individual may apply for a housing loan from a lender. To help decide if the applicant should be approved or rejected for the loan, the credit lender will check the credit score of the applicant based on Equifax' information of the applicant's credit history.
Recent consumer issues
As of July 2007, Equifax form letters include a toll-free number, (888) 876-5796, that is no longer in service. Below this defunct phone number, the Equifax form letter informs customers that they "must call within 60 days" if they wish to dispute any information contained within the letter.
As of December 2007, the telephone number listed for disputing items on the free online credit report (866-233-4027) is also defunct, returning a "not in service" message when called.
Equifax provides an online dispute form. [2]
See also
References and footnotes
- ^ a b Separating Equifax from fiction, Wired, September 1995, retrieved 13 September 2007
- ^ Equifax Fined $250,000 Fine By FTC, NBC 10, 3 August 2003, retrieved 13 September 2007
- ^ "Equifax to Pay $250,000 to Settle Charges", ConsumerAffairs. A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files to represent the Creditworthiness of that person Identity theft is a term used to refer to Fraud that involves stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA is an American federal Law (codified at et seq Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 509 BC - The Temple of Jupiter on Rome 's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. com, 2003-07-30. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Retrieved on 2007-07-23. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1632 - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe France.
External links
- Company website
- Equifax Credit Report Key
- Yahoo! Finance - Equifax Inc. Company Profile
- Equifax Online Dispute
- Equifax Credit Watch Member Login
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic