According to the book Guerilla Guide to Credit Repair, the credit reports that you order don't show as much information as the ones that a lender or employer pulls. This book was written in 1994. Does this condition still exist today?
Hi Squeak, I'm new here, but many years ago I worked at a collection agency <barf>, terrible job. Anyway, I learned a fair amount that has helped me and a few friends/family over the years. There are definitely different levels of detail available on credit reports, depending on what the subscriber is paying for. It used to be that fico and similar scores weren't available to consumers, unless you got your report from a mortgage company. That is no longer the case. It took a while, but the CRAs figured out there's lots of money selling full reports to consumers. In fact, I bet it's their most profitable segment. Before you purchase a report, just make sure the service you use included the ficos from all 3 agencies, and you'll be good to go. As far as I'm aware, that's the full deal as far as credit reports go. It is also possible to purchase other reports that detail such items as criminal background, etc. but to my knowledge those are completely separate from credit reports. Perhaps someone else has more current information, but that's the way I understand it to work.
