What Is Credit Plus and How Does It Affect You?

Credit Plus provides data and analytical tools to the financial industry. It serves businesses, offering services that enable lenders and other organizations to make informed decisions. The company collects and provides information that influences financial transactions, helping assess risk and facilitate credit processes.

Credit Plus: Overview of a Data Provider

Credit Plus is a private company headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland. It provides business intelligence data and credit reports to commercial and private money lenders. The company serves financial institutions in lending and housing, offering verification services for the mortgage industry.

Credit Plus aims to provide insights that help clients make informed lending and credit decisions. Clients are typically lenders, landlords, and employers, not individual consumers. Its services help these entities reduce risk and improve financial performance with verified business credit report data.

Credit Plus streamlines the process for lenders to understand borrowers more quickly. Its expertise in residential and commercial mortgage industries helps it develop solutions. By providing verification services, Credit Plus helps mortgage professionals close loans and manage risk.

Core Data Services for Lenders

Credit Plus offers clients various data and services, including credit reports. These reports help lenders assess an applicant’s credit history and financial obligations. Credit reports typically include payment history, tradelines (active credit accounts), and public records like bankruptcies or tax liens.

Credit Plus provides access to credit scores, which summarize an individual’s credit risk. These scores are generated from credit report data. Services like Pre-Qualification Plus offer soft credit pulls, allowing lenders to assess eligibility without impacting an applicant’s credit score.

Credit Plus offers verification services to support lenders’ due diligence. These include electronic and manual income and employment verification, often leveraging databases like The Work Number. These verifications ensure accurate income and employment status for assessing repayment capacity. Asset verification (e.g., AccountChek Asset Report) and tax return verification (4506-T) confirm financial holdings and reported income.

Fraud detection services, like FraudPlus and ID Plus, identify potential risks, fraud, and errors in loan applications. ID Plus reports summarize fraud alerts, active duty alerts, credit freezes, and verify Social Security Numbers and addresses. Undisclosed Debt Verification (UDV) helps lenders uncover debts an applicant may not have disclosed. These services assist lenders in making informed decisions, managing compliance, and mitigating financial risks.

Consumer Impact of Credit Plus Data

Data from companies like Credit Plus directly influences consumers’ financial opportunities. When lenders and other businesses use these reports, they assess creditworthiness. This assessment determines a consumer’s ability to obtain loans (mortgages, auto, personal) and affects interest rates and terms.

A consumer’s credit history, reflected in these reports, influences more than loan approvals. It can affect their ability to rent housing, as landlords review credit reports. Employers may also use credit reports in hiring decisions for positions involving financial responsibility. Accurate data from providers like Credit Plus is important for a consumer’s financial well-being and access to services.

Incorrect or outdated information on a credit report can negatively impact a consumer’s financial standing. Inaccuracies might lead to loan denials, higher interest rates, or challenges in securing housing or employment. Errors can misrepresent financial reliability, potentially causing them to be viewed as a higher risk. Ensuring correct information is a proactive step for consumers.

Managing Your Credit Data

Consumers have specific rights concerning their credit information, primarily governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This federal law promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of data held by consumer reporting agencies.

Under the FCRA, consumers are entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The official website for obtaining these free reports is AnnualCreditReport.com.

Upon receiving credit reports, consumers should carefully review them for any inaccuracies or incomplete information. Common errors include incorrect personal details, accounts that do not belong to the consumer, or outdated negative information.

If an error is identified, consumers have the right to dispute it with the credit bureau. This process can be initiated online, by mail, or over the phone, depending on the bureau.

When disputing an error, consumers should explain what they believe is wrong and provide copies of any supporting documents. It is advisable to send dispute letters by certified mail with a return receipt requested if mailing, to maintain a record of delivery.

The credit bureau is required to investigate disputed information, typically within 30 days. If the investigation confirms an error, the credit bureau must correct or delete the inaccurate information from the report. Consumers also have the right to dispute the information directly with the business that supplied it to the credit bureau.