How Do I Access Information from Specialized Bureaus?

In a hurry? Click here for the fastest solution...

Besides the big three credit reporting bureaus of Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, there are also some specialized consumer bureaus that contain important information which can definitely affect your finances. You can gain access to these if you need to. The most important of these for most consumers is the ChexSystems.

ChexSystems

When you go into a bank to apply for a new bank account, over 80 percent of banks will pull your report from ChexSystems to learn if you have any prior history of misusing bank accounts. Such information remains in their systems for five years after the fact.

It will influence their approval or rejection decision for your new account.

Chex Systems is actually a national consumer reporting agency that manages information on the use of checking and savings accounts. If you have failed to pay a fee or bounced a check, this information will be contained in your ChexSystems file. The good news is that you can obtain both your report and score from the agency at no cost.

The report is the most useful information to have. It provides you with the back story on the reason a bank might have turned down your new account request. You are able to obtain a free copy of this report each year. You can simply request your report online by filling out this consumer disclosure form. They will send you the report which should arrive in only five business days or faster.

CLUE Reports

CLUE is the claims information report database created and maintained by LexisNexis the international giant consumer reporting agency. They hold as much as seven years worth of your personal property and automobile claims history.

This report will have your personal information including all of the following: your name and date of birth, policy number, type and date of loss, claim amount the firm paid out, description of the property that was covered, and your property address. The insurance companies report all claims where they pay out, deny, or establish a file on a claim.

These CLUE reports are important where insurance is concerned. A potential insurer will likely pull your CLUE report if you ask for an insurance quote or make a full application for coverage. They are interested in your history of claims in determining what coverage they will offer you and at what cost. Their research demonstrates a consistent relationship between prior paid claims and future reported claims.

You are able to get your free annual copy of your CLUE report courtesy of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can request this from LexisNexis online at: Request your personal report online (www.lexisnexis.com) or by calling their consumer center at 866-312-8076.

Judicial Judgments

It used to be that judicial judgments showed up on your three credit reports. This practice ended in 2017/2018 when the big three bureaus eliminated all judgments from your reports and scoring algorithms.

Bankruptcy is the only public record that shows up on your credit reports anymore. In order to find out if there are any other judgments against you nowadays, you would need to order a copy of your public records from the county in which you reside. You can do this in person at the courthouse or by going to their website online.

Utilities History

Your utility payment history will appear on your credit report. If you are behind on payments or have charge offs with any utilities, then it will show up here. This is something that you should keep a lookout for on your credit report. Timely utility payment history will not appear on your report. It is only if you fall meaningfully behind that there will be reports made to the big three consumer credit reporting bureaus.

Rental Background Check

Rental background checks are not simple reports compiled by a consumer reporting agency. Instead, they comprise information mostly found on your consumer credit report, such as your personal details and address, credit score, and listings of any collections, inquiries, and bankruptcies.

They also include your employment history, public records, criminal records, and eviction records. Most of this other information the organization which is conducting the rental background check will obtain from your public records or from the application that they make you fill out for them.

If you have been repeatedly delinquent on rent payments or not paid some final rent amount in the past, there is a good chance that it will show up as reported to the credit bureaus under derogatory information. Experian RentBureau is a separately maintained report that Experian keeps on timely and late rent payments.

You can request a fee report from them by contacting them on their website.

Medical Insurance History

Your medical and insurance histories may not be given out without your expressed written permission. Because of this, there is no single national medical records database or report containing this information. Instead, individual doctor’s offices and hospitals each have some of your medical insurance information.

Thanks to the Data Protection Act of 1998, no doctor will comply with a request from an insurer to reveal your medical records unless you agree in writing. The state health information exchanges are the closest things to a national database or report on your medical insurance history. You can contact the one for your state to see if they have your information available in a report to obtain a copy should you require it.