Has anyone heard of this credit bureau? It's the one listed on my rejection for an UmbrellaBank secured card. My only reason for rejection is past-due open accounts, which is incorrect. Six months after my discharge, my credit reports are messed up. A bunch of the creditors included in my bankruptcy are continuing to report every month that I'm past due on discharged debts. (Yet when I call to inquire about this, I am transferred to the bankruptcy department.) My attorney is disputing with the big three CRAs, but do I now also have to dispute with Merchants Association?
RE: Merchants Association Cred It could be like a bureau "subcontractor". In Hawaii, there is a bureau called "Credit Bureau of the Pacific"; they pull the Equifax report. Perhaps this company is similar.
RE: Merchants Association Cred Yes we have local credit agency here that pulls from Trans Union. have you tried calling them? Thats is how I found out who they were
RE: Merchants Association Cred Thanks. The letter I received says Merchants is in Tampa, so I guess that's the one. Now, why would UmbrellaBank, which is in Illinois, go to a Florida company to pull a TransUnion report? Why wouldn't it just go to TransUnion?
RE: Merchants Association Cred Believe it or not, i used to write software for the credit beaureaus (residential screening). The different regions of the credit bureaus sell at different prices for TU, they act more as affiliates than one central company, kinda like time warner (rr.com). And you can get different prices in different parts of the country. Its really weird, and hard to deal with them. Credit Bearaue of Pacific Sounds awfully similar to "C.B.I". we all remember that old name. oh no! equifax is gonna come chase me down with a stick for calling them that still.
RE: Merchants Association Cred You're right. It is a sort of sub-contractor known as a satellite or affiliate bureau. I once worked for one, which was called The Retail Merchants' Association of Houston. Business subscribers were able to access credit reports from Trans Union. Trans Union and Equifax, in many states, contract with various data entry companies as well as these local retail merchants' associations to deal with creditors and consumers, enter information, correct information, and of course sell credit reports to the consumer. Experian is the only credit bureau that handles its own reporting and data entry. Most Texas residents receive their Trans Union Reports from a local retail merchants' association while they receive their Equifax reports from CSC Credit Services. CSC stands for Computer Science Corporation.
RE: Merchants Association Cred Actually Experian is also using sub-contractors. For example, my Experian report shows contact information for one of them: CBA Information Services P.O. Box 677 Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 1-800-574-9784 Needless to say, customer service at this number is horrible, virtually non-existent. Most times the caller is told that "due to high volume of calls, we have to ask you to call again(!)" Saar
RE: Merchants Association Cred I'm surprised there aren't alot more people from Hawaii on this board w/the economy how it is now. Maybe they're just lurking.
