In addition to its role as a government watchdog, responsible for protecting consumers in the financial sector, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also offers a wide range of resources to educate the public about various personal finance topics. One of those resources which the CFPB publishes on an annual basis is a list of consumer reporting companies. This week, the CFPB put out its 2016 edition of this list.

Why is this valuable?
As most of you who frequent this site would know, consumer reporting companies collect information and provide reports to other companies about you. The most well known among these are the three largest nationwide providers of consumer reports–Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Information in their reports includes, among other things:

• your repayment history,
• how much credit you have,
• how much credit you use,
• and whether a debt or bill collector is collecting on money you owe

It’s important that the information in your report is correct, as these reports are used by others to make decisions about providing you with credit, employment, residential rental housing and insurance, among other things.

By law, you have the right to both obtain the information in your consumer reports and dispute inaccuracies with the the consumer reporting companies and those who gave them the information. The CFPB’s list makes it easier for consumers to do just that.

Other Consumer Reporting Companies
While savvy consumers know about the big 3 credit reporting agencies and how to get their credit reports for free, those three behemoths aren’t the only consumer reporting companies. The CFPB’s list also enumerates companies which specialize in other areas, such as:

• employment screening,
• tenant screening,
• check and bank screening,
• property insurance,
• medical
• low-income and subprime
• utilities
• retail
• gaming

Just as importantly, the CFPB describes the types of information these other companies collect, as well as how consumers can request a copy of their report. In most cases, these companies will provide a free report every 12 months upon request and sometimes even a score.

Check out the CFPB’s helpful list at the following link:

CFPB List of Consumer Reporting Companies