How to Contact Credit Bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (2024)

There are three main credit reporting agencies in the United States – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each agency (or bureau) has a slightly different way of collecting and organizing a consumer’s credit information to form a credit report.

Because of their size and complexity, knowing how and who to contact at each bureau can be a frustrating experience. Their official websites almost seem like they’re designed to confuse their consumers.

Here’s the information you’ll need if you want to contact one or all of the three major credit bureaus. We’ve sifted through the information on their official websites and regularly update this article with any changes.

Why Would You Need to Contact a Credit Bureau?

You might need to contact a credit bureau for a number of reasons. Here are some examples of the most common purposes.

To manage your subscriptions. If you’ve subscribed to products or services sold by one of the credit bureaus, you may need to contact customer support or want to cancel your subscriptions.

To dispute inaccurate information or make corrections. Even if you haven’t subscribed to any of the credit bureau products, you may need to get in touch with them to dispute incorrect items on your credit report. The same would be the case if you need to register a name change with a bureau.

To protect your personal information. Victims of identity theft will want to put fraud alerts and security freezes on their credit files. This will usually require a telephone call directly to the credit bureau.

How to Contact Equifax

Equifax has a pretty straightforward contact page that gives you many different ways to get in touch with the bureau. Their contact information differs based on what you’re contacting them for.

For a copy of your credit report

Online: The quickest way to access your credit report is via their Online Self Service menu. You will need to create a MyEquifax account or sign in if you already have one. You can also access all three copies of your credit report for free every twelve months on AnnualCreditReport.com.

By phone: To request a copy of your Equifax credit report, call 1-888-Equifax (1-888-378-4329) any time from 9 am to 9 pm (ET), Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 6 pm (ET), Saturday and Sunday.

By mail: You can also fill out an Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

If you choose to request your credit report via mail, make sure you fill out the form correctly, place it into a #10 envelope, and affix the required postage.

For a dispute

Online: Although Equifax has an online dispute option on their Online Self Service webpage, we don’t recommend filing a credit dispute online. This is because there’s a different set of rules when it comes to disputing online.

For one, there’s no paper trail that you can point to, which can sometimes be the deciding factor when disputing an item on your credit report. Disputing online only gives Equifax the upper hand by buying them more time. Here’s an article with more reasons Why You Should Never Dispute Credit Errors Online for more valuable information.

By mail: When you’re filing a dispute, the traditional method is going to be your best bet. You can fill out this Dispute Request Form and send it via Certified Mail to this address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

Sending it via Certified Mail is important because it provides you with a receipt that shows the date your dispute was received.

For a fraud alert

Online: The easiest way to place a fraud alert on your account is through your MyEquifax account. You can access instructions to create an account for this purpose on their Online Self Service page.

It’s important to act fast in cases of fraud alerts, so the online option is going to be your best bet.

By phone: If you feel more comfortable speaking with someone to place a fraud alert, call their helpline at 1-888-Equifax (1-888-4329) any time from 9 am to 9 pm (ET), Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 6 pm (ET) on Saturday and Sunday.

By mail: To place a fraud alert on your Equifax credit report by mail, fill out this Fraud Alert Request Form and mail it to the following address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348-5069

For security freezes

Online: The simplest way to place a freeze or manage a freeze on your Equifax credit report is to create a profile or log in to your MyEquifax account. You’re able to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a freeze on your Equifax credit report.

By phone: To place a security freeze by phone, call their main helpline at 1-888-Equifax (1-888-378-4329) any time from 9 am to 9 pm (ET), Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 6 pm (ET), on Saturday and Sunday.

By mail: You can also fill out and send a Security Freeze Request Form to the following address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

For other Equifax products

If you want to contact Equifax about their credit monitoring or identity theft services, Lock & Alert, or the 2017 Equifax Cybersecurity Incident, you can reach support staff by phone at 1-888-Equifax (1-888-378-4329). Their call center hours are from 9 am to 9 pm (ET), Monday through Friday, and 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday.

How to Contact Experian

Experian’s Contact Us page shows you how to get in touch with the bureau based on why you’re trying to contact it. Like Equifax, Experian also offers many of these services via its website if you prefer to go online instead of calling or mailing.

For a copy of your credit report

Online: To request your Experian credit report, they advise you to visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get a free copy of your credit report every twelve months.

If you’ve already gotten your free credit report for the year and want to get another one for a fee, you can access your credit report by filling out their online request form and paying around $12 plus tax.

By phone: If you prefer talking to someone, you can request your Experian credit report over the phone by calling 1-888-397-3742.

For a dispute

Online: Although Experian prefers that you file a credit dispute online, we do not recommend going this route. There are plenty of reasons Why You Shouldn’t Dispute Credit Report Errors Online. One is that there is no paper trail like there would be with traditionally filing a dispute by mail.

By mail: Experian has a full page on its website dedicated to instructions for disputing by mail. It may be helpful to look over it before sending your dispute. When you’re ready, fill out this Dispute Request Form with any additional information attached and mail it to this address via Certified Mail:

Experian
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013

Once you send the dispute and Experian has received it, you can check the status of your dispute online by creating or signing in to your Experian account.

For fraud or identity theft

Online: If you suspect that you are a victim of fraud or identity theft, Experian has an Identity Theft Help page that will guide you through the proper steps you need to take based on what you’re experiencing.

Phone: To contact Experian about fraud or identity theft by phone, call 1-888-397-3742.

For other Experian products

For more information on other Experian products and how to contact the bureau, you can visit this Help Page which lays out a variety of actions you can take. You can also call their helpline at 1-888-Experian (1-888-397-3742) any time from 8 am to 8 pm (ET), Monday through Friday.

How to Contact TransUnion

TransUnion has a Consumer Support webpage that takes you through who to contact based on what you’re trying to accomplish. They have different sections for self-serve help, managing your subscriptions, and getting technical support, amongst other things.

For a copy of your credit report

Online: Like Experian, TransUnion refers you to AnnualCreditReport.com to access your credit report for free every twelve months. If you’ve already received your free credit report and want to request another one, you can visit the Credit Report page to request a free copy through the TransUnion Service Center or a paid credit monitoring subscription.

By phone: TransUnion advises consumers to call 800-888-4213 to request a credit report over the phone.

By mail: You can fill out an Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to the following address:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

If you choose to request your credit report via mail, make sure you fill out the form correctly, place it into a #10 envelope, and affix the required postage.

For a dispute

Online:TransUnion offers an online service center that allows you to dispute items on your credit report and see the status of your disputes. With that being said, we always recommend avoiding disputing items online. This gives the credit union the upper hand and leaves you with less power in the disputing process.

If you need any more convincing, here’s Why You Should Never Dispute Credit Report Errors Online.

If you need to dispute an item on your TransUnion credit report, you can call 1-833-395-6941 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time.

By phone:If you prefer to talk to someone on the phone, you can talk to one of their dispute experts by calling 833-395-6941 any time Monday thru Friday, 8 am – 11 pm (ET).

By mail: To dispute by mail, they ask that you include the following information:

• Personal Information: Name, DOB, Address, SSN
• Name of the company that reported the item you’re disputing and the partial account number (from your credit report)
• Reason for your dispute
• Any corrections to your personal information (address, phone number, etc.)

Once you have that information gathered, send your dispute and accompanying documents via Certified Mail to:

TransUnion Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016-2000

For a fraud alert

Online:TransUnion has an extensive page on its website for anything related to Fraud Alerts. A fraud alert is a free service that notifies creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before extending credit. You can place an initial fraud alert, an extended fraud alert, or an active military alert on your TransUnion credit report.

By phone: For fraud alerts, contact the Consumer Relations Department at 1-800-916-8800.

For security freezes

Online: To freeze or unfreeze your credit with TransUnion, the bureau directs you to a Credit Freeze page with options to complete the process online. It’s a free service that will not affect your credit score.

By phone: If you’d rather call them to place or remove a credit freeze, you can call them at 1-888-909-8872 from 8 am to 11 pm (ET).

For other TransUnion products

You can visit their Consumer Support page if you have any other questions or want to know more about TransUnion’s other services. This page includes help in the form of self-serve options, subscription management, and tech support.

How to Opt-Out of Mailing Lists

If you’re tired of having your mailbox stuffed with ads, prescreened offers for credit and insurance, and other mail you didn’t ask for, odds are you’ve been subscribed to mailing lists that are run by the credit bureaus.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to unsubscribe. If you opt-out, you have a few choices:

• Opt out of getting mail offers for five years
• Opt out of getting mail offers permanently

For either option you choose, visit optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). To unsubscribe permanently, you will need to sign and return the Permanent Opt-Out Election form you will get after you start the process.

When you opt-out of these marketing emails you will need to provide some personal information, including your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth.