Stores that use Equifax

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by RichGuy, Jan 8, 2001.

  1. RichGuy

    RichGuy Guest

    Greetings, mates, and a Happy New Millennium to all. I've stayed off this board for a while, to the delight of some and to my own great benefit. I'm now devoting more time to increasing my income than to obtaining credit, which is just as well since I need to wait out some recent inquiries and a major collection item from 1996.

    I've reached a plateau, with almost no offers in the mail except the ubiquitous "upgrade for a fee" pitches from Providian. I have Citibank cards at reasonable terms and a nice prime Visa from Chase, which sadly won't grant me a line increase. Other than that, I have a grab bag of 4 gasoline cards and 5 subprime bank cards.

    So I've been experimenting with retail cards, trying to see which ones pull reports from agencies other than Experian. (Based on Experian alone, even Target and Exxon have turned me down.)

    I tried Macy's, since Barry's list indicated either Equifax or Experian would be used. To my surprise, I was approved in the store, and I'm sure Equifax was used. (A subsequent report from Experian contained no inquiry by Macy's.) Then, a few weeks ago, I went to the mall and used the credit courtesy phones at Dillard's and Robinsons-May. Credit reps from each told me that Equifax was their primary source.

    Now I have cards from both Macy's and Robinsons-May, not my first choices for retail credit but useful nonetheless. The terms are better than those of my subprime cards, and now I can dress a little better for interviews without straining my bank cards.

    Formerly known as Retail Credit, Equifax seems to have maintained a market niche with the more expensive department stores. I hope this information proves useful. Others may differ, but I continue to believe that retail cards ease the transition from subprime to prime credit.
     

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