Our responsibility

Experian is the global leader in credit reporting, serving the needs of more consumers and businesses in more countries than any other company. Consumers and lenders in major economies around the world confidently rely on Experian credit reports to expand and manage consumer credit lending, which in turn helps drive our local economies. As such, we take our responsibility very seriously in managing vast amounts of credit data.

The quality and completeness of the information we sell is the cornerstone of our business, and more so, it is the cornerstone of the consumer credit industry and is used in millions of credit decisions daily. We recognize that our data has a direct impact on the lives of consumers and on the business performance of our clients. Our data must be as accurate, complete and current as possible to service the needs of consumers and lenders day in and day out, and we take that responsibility very seriously.

Commitment to Consumers

Consumers should expect that the information reported about them is an accurate reflection of how they have handled their credit obligations over time. Consumers also need help in understanding the information, understanding what steps they can take to improve eligibility for credit, and understanding in the rare instances when errors in reports do occur, what actions are required by the consumer, the data furnishers and Experian to resolve those issues. We are committed to providing the highest quality services to help consumers in this process and each year, we introduce new enhancements to consumer services to improve our engagement and our results.

Highest Quality of Information

Lenders also have very high expectations about the quality of information in credit reports. Lenders rely on the information provided by credit bureaus to make the best decisions possible in terms of extension of new credit and in managing the risk of lending money to consumers who are often unknown to them.  The information must be accurate, complete, and current so that it is a true picture of the risk associated with lending to a consumer and about the opportunity of building a long and loyal relationship with a new customer.

Lenders hold Experian accountable for the quality and completeness of the information they depend upon to drive their business. Quite simply, if a lender is not confident of the quality, accuracy and completeness of the information they buy from Experian to make their credit decisions, they will switch their business to another provider. We are committed to providing the highest quality data and invest millions of dollars annually to ensure that we meet these high standards of consumers and lenders.

Pursuers of “Error-Free” Data

Lenders are also often data furnishers to credit bureaus. Data furnishers typically provide Experian with an update on every consumer credit account every month, providing the most recent account details like balance amounts, payment amounts and whether the account was paid on time. In the US, as an example, Experian receives and processes about 60 million account updates every single day to keep the information as current and accurate as possible.

Experian has established very high standards for the data reported to our database, and we invest heavily in measuring, monitoring and managing the accuracy and completeness of information we receive. While both Experian and data furnishers are obligated under various legal regulations regarding the quality of information reported to a bureau, Experian takes our commitment to the next level and sets the highest standards in the industry for data reporting. As part of that commitment, we invest millions of dollars annually upgrading our systems and processes on a regular basis in pursuit of “error-free” data.

Doing Business the Right Way

Experian believes that there is a natural and important balance of interests between the needs of consumers, lenders and the credit industry in this process, and we’re committed to ensuring that the balance is maintained. We make every effort to keep consumers needs in balance with lenders needs.

It’s simply the right way to do business.

Peg Smith
Executive Vice President
Experian North America