Credit Bureaus Beyond the Big Three: ChexSystems, LexisNexis, Innovis and Others by Category

What credit bureaus are there besides Experian, Equifax and TransUnion?

When people say “credit history,” they usually mean the three big credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. A bureau is a company that collects data on how you pay your bills. To learn how they differ, read our article Experian, Equifax, TransUnion: What’s the Difference Between the Three Credit Bureaus.

But besides Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, there are dozens more credit bureaus in the US. They are called specialty bureaus (specialty consumer reporting agencies). Each one tracks one thing: bank accounts, rentals or insurance claims. The official list of these bureaus is kept by a government agency, the CFPB.

The key point: these bureaus have almost no effect on your credit score. But they affect whether you can open an account, whether you can rent an apartment and how much you pay for insurance. That is where the strange denials come from: your score is good, but you still hear “no.”

That is why, when a denial makes no sense, Excalibur Credit Solutions managers also check the specialty bureaus: ChexSystems, LexisNexis, Innovis and Experian RentBureau.

Why a bank won’t open an account for you: ChexSystems and Early Warning

ChexSystems (pronounced “checks systems”) is a bureau for bank accounts. Banks report to it if you overdrew your account and did not pay the money back. Or if a check bounced. Or if your account was closed because of suspected fraud. When you open a new account, the bank often checks this exact report.

A ChexSystems record is usually kept for up to 5 years. During all that time, many banks and credit unions may refuse to open an account for you. A credit union is a cooperative bank where the customers are considered its members. At the same time, this record may not appear at all in your reports from the three main bureaus. It gets there only if the bank sends the debt to collections. Then it becomes a collection, one of the types of negative items from our article which entries on your credit report count as negative.

The second bureau like this is Early Warning Services. It is jointly owned by seven large banks, including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Capital One. The same company is behind Zelle transfers. The data there is similar, and negative records also usually stay for about 5 years.

Renting: how does a landlord find out about your past apartments?

When you apply for an apartment, the landlord usually orders a tenant screening. Hundreds of companies do these checks. They put your credit history, rent payment history and eviction court cases into one report. Sometimes they add a criminal background check too.

One of the main rental databases is Experian RentBureau. Property management companies report there whether you paid on time and whether you left any debts. Experian also adds on-time payments to your regular Experian report. But late payments and debts stay in the separate RentBureau report, and that is the one the landlord sees.

A common problem is an old apartment debt you did not even know about. For example, after you moved out, the property management company charged you $900 for “repairs.” You never saw that bill, but your new landlord does. To learn what happens after an eviction, read our article Bankruptcy, Repossession and Eviction: How They Affect Your Credit History.

Why your insurance went up: LexisNexis and the C.L.U.E. report

LexisNexis is a large company that collects data for insurance companies. Its best-known report is called C.L.U.E. It shows your car and home insurance claims for the last 7 years: what happened, when and how much was paid.

An insurance company looks at this report when it sets the price of your policy. Two or three claims in recent years, and the price can go up noticeably. Sometimes even a claim the insurer paid nothing on ends up in the database. And sometimes it is someone else’s claim: an accident involving a person with a similar name, or damage the house had before you owned it.

Life insurance has its own database: MIB. It stores information from your past life and health insurance applications.

Why you were denied a small loan: Clarity Services and FactorTrust

Let’s say you took out a payday loan, an online installment loan or rented electronics with an option to buy (rent-to-own). Then data about it is most likely stored in two bureaus. Clarity Services is owned by Experian, and FactorTrust is owned by TransUnion. But these are separate databases: this data does not go into your regular credit report.

Online lenders and small-loan companies check them. That is where the strange picture comes from: your score is 700, but you were denied a $1,500 loan. The reason may be an old unpaid payday loan sitting in one of these databases.

Utilities and cell phone service: what does NCTUE have to do with it?

NCTUE is a shared database of phone carriers, cable TV providers, security companies and utilities. It is run by Equifax, but it is not your regular Equifax report. It includes phone, internet, electricity and gas bills, both paid and unpaid.

When it comes up: you set up internet or electricity at a new place, and the company asks for a deposit of a few hundred dollars. Or it won’t give you a phone on a payment plan. Often the reason is the last internet bill from your old apartment: after you moved, it never reached you.

Innovis, the “fourth bureau”: what is it for?

Innovis collects almost the same data as the three main bureaus: credit cards, loans, addresses, inquiries. That is why it is called the “fourth bureau.” It is owned by CBC Companies.

When you apply for a card, the bank usually checks the three main bureaus. Innovis data is more often used for identity checks, fraud prevention and sending out card offers.

This matters if your identity is stolen. A credit freeze blocks new credit from being opened in your name. If you placed one at the three main bureaus, it does not cover Innovis. You place it there separately, and that is free too.

How do you get your report from a specialty bureau and dispute an error?

The good news: all the major bureaus in this article give you your report for free once every 12 months. You can request it on the bureau’s website, by phone or by mail. If you were denied based on data from one of these bureaus, ask for another free report: you have 60 days to do that.

The bureau must investigate the disputed entry. This usually takes about 30 days. If whoever reported the data cannot verify it, the entry must be corrected or removed. We explained how to read the entries themselves in our guide how to read a credit report.

What to attach to your dispute:

• a statement showing the account closed with a zero balance;
• a letter from the bank or landlord confirming the debt was paid;
• your lease and photos of the apartment on move-out day;
• a police report, if the entry is not yours at all.

If the entry is accurate, there is no need to dispute it. A different approach works:

1. Contact the bank, landlord or carrier that reported the debt.
2. Confirm the exact amount and pay it off, or agree on a payment plan.
3. Get a letter stating that the debt has been paid.
4. Ask the company to update the entry with the bureau as paid.
5. A month later, request your report again and check that the status has changed.