You know the “Big Three” credit reporting agencies of Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Have you ever wondered if there was another one? Well, you might not be surprised to find there are other minor companies who have your information. One, in particular, has been referred to as the “fourth” major agency, and you may have never known of its existence. Its name is Innovis.
The company has a website, but there isn’t a whole lot of objective information about Innovis on the Web. The company began in 1970 as “Associated Credit Bureaus.” In 1989 it was purchased and renamed Consumers Credit Associates. First Data Corporation bought the company in 1997 and renamed it Innovis. Since 1999, Innovis has been a subsidiary of CBC Companies, a business based in Columbus, OH, that operates local credit bureaus and runs a nationwide collection agency. Its listing on the Better Business Bureau’s website states the name as “Innovis, aka CBC Companies, Inc.” The company posts an A- rating, with 15 consumer complaints resolved in the past three years.
So why haven’t you heard of the company? It might be because it doesn’t sell consumers’ credit histories to lenders, like the “Big Three” do. It actually specializes in helping creditors make their mailing lists by supplying personal information. (Innovis’ website refers to “authenticating and preventing identity fraud.”) The company provides to creditors names of consumers who are late on debt payments, and it also keeps a list of people who have recently reported a change in address.
For consumers, Innovis actually offers its own credit report, but you cannot order it online. The only ways to get it are by phone or by mail. When applying for a credit report, you’ll need to supply information like proof of your current address and a form of identification. Just like with the Big Three credit bureaus, you have the right to dispute the information on Innovis’ report.
Innovis gained some attention in 2001, when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began requiring their mortgage lenders to report their borrowers’ payment histories to the company. Innovis also required notification of foreclosures. The federal government also reported late payments and defaulted mortgages to the company.
That’s about all I could find about the fourth credit reporting agency. Innovis seems to have a history of secrecy, and millions of consumers out there are unaware of its existence. It offers its own credit report, and at the same time it gives personal information to creditors. While Innovis seems cloistered and unwilling to disclose information about itself, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything wrong. There are no current investigations into its practices, no violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and an A- rating from the BBB. If Innovis were a Beatle, it might be George Harrison. People assume that a quiet person has something menacing to hide, but that is simply an assumption if nothing illegal is being done. From this article, you simply need to know that there are other credit reporting agencies out there. They may have your information and they may be secretive, but they’re not something to worry about unless they commit unethical practices.
He played clarinet for the Marching Tar Heels in 2005 and 2006. He also volunteered for STV, the student-run television station at UNC-Chapel Hill, in the spring of 2010. He shot video, wrote scripts, and acted for “Off the Cuff,” UNC’s longest running sketch comedy show. He has the rare distinction of having lived in a dorm all four years of his undergraduate college career. He was also on Franklin Street on the night of April 4, 2009. His future plans are to pursue a master’s degree in journalism and to one day work for the media as a sports journalist or broadcaster.
Being one of eight children, David realizes finance is an important topic to everyone, regardless of his/her knowledge of the subject. His interests are in personal finance, budgeting, and savings.
In his spare time, David enjoys watching sports and standup comedy, as well as doing crossword puzzles and writing in the first person. He also thoroughly enjoys trivia and, one day, hopes to participate on the game show Jeopardy!, where he will try to break Ken Jennings’ 74-game win streak.
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