Everything You Need to Know About Innovis, the Fourth Credit Bureau

Much of the discussion of credit bureaus focuses on the three most commonly used agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. However, there’s another bureau you may need to know about. Innovis is actually one of several companies that gathers, stores and publishes credit file information. While your Innovis report will contain much of the same account information found in your reports from the big three credit bureaus, it’s used primarily for compiling and selling mailing lists to other businesses. For example, if a company wants to identify people in a certain zip code they want to offer a credit card, that company may ask Innovis to compile a list that meets that profile.

How to get the report
Like with your other three credit reports, you are entitled to get a free copy of your Innovis report once a year. You can access your free report by visiting innovis.com or by calling 1-800-540-2505. If you find any errors in your Innovis report, you can dispute the incorrect information at the website.

How to opt out
If you wish to not have information from your Innovis report used in marketing lists, you can opt out at optoutprescreen.com. This precludes you from having information in any of your four major credit report files being used for marketing purposes for five years.

Should you worry?
There is some anecdotal evidence of certain lenders using Innovis reports in lending decisions. However, all available evidence suggests that these instances are rare. The best way to know which credit reports your lender uses is simply to ask. If they don’t use the Innovis report for lending decisions, your major concern is likely going to be whether or not to opt out of being a part of marketing lists. That said, it’s not a bad idea to access your report and correct any mistakes just in case you need to have a spotless Innovis report at some time down the road.

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