The Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads, Inc. is the service provider of first choice for the region’s small business community. By offering free, confidential one-on-one business counseling, low-cost training, research through SBDCNet and referrals to top-flight service providers, we assist in maintaining and growing this vitally important segment of the region’s economy.
| Company | Price | Readability | Human Touch | Worst Feature | Comment |
| Fair, Isaac & Co.
myfico.com |
$12. 95 for an Equifax credit report and your personal FICO score (a number used by lenders to judge your credit worthiness). | Clearest explanation of how the report affects your credit profile. Also includes a description of the FICO score and what it means for your borrowing ability. | Accepts only e-mail queries. They responded to our question in 66 minutes – but basically said we need to contact the credit bureaus directly to fix mistakes or ask questions. | Available only online; the company won’t even mail a hard copy. A spokesman says most customers prefer it that way. | A Must. Access to the FICO score is worth the price, though it would be nicer to have more personalized customer support. |
| Trans Union
transunion.com |
$9 | Well-organized. Also provides a FICO-like credit score – but it’s not widely used in the industry. Offers the best explanation of who in the past has requested copies of your report, and why. | Phone rep was curt, and also misidentified one of the companies that had previously requested a copy of our report. ( A spokesman says it was just a slipup.) | The only provider that didn’t omit our Social Security number for security reasons. (The company says it’s reconsidering the policy.) | The credit score is a helpful feature, even though it’s an in-house rating and not the more common FICO score used by most lenders. |
| Experian Information Solutions (866) 200-6020 experian.com |
$9 | Above average. Informative brochure tells how data are compiled and how long it remains in the file. (Watch out: Late payments stay there seven years.) | Below average. Kept on hold 11 minutes, then told to call directory assistance to get the number of our credit-card company if we want to close the account. | Booklet is poorly designed: Info from one account sometimes looks like it’s part of another account. | Satisfactory, but we wish they could have provided more help in tracking down the credit-card company we were trying to contact. |
| Consumerlnfo.com
(a unit of Experian) |
Free – but you’re automatically enrolled in a $79.95-a-year credit-monitoring service if you don’t cancel within 30 days. | Nice graphics make it one of the easier reports to digest quickly. | Report said to call customer service – but didn’t include the number. (It’s 888-888-8553.) The courteous rep helped us cancel the extra service without a hassle. | Doesn’t list all the companies that have requested a credit history. | A cheap way to get a basic credit report – but could be costly if you don’t cancel the credit-monitoring service. |
| Equifax
(800) 685-1111 equifax.com |
$9 | Perplexing at first glance – a jumble of numbers and abbreviations – but the enclosed key was helpful in deciphering. | The automated phone system cut us off as we were ordering our report. Later, though, we stayed on hold less than two minutes and the rep was most helpful. | Graphics could use work. Other providers use colorful symbols that help you read their charts at a glance. | Confusing presentation. But had most responsive customer-service staff of the bunch. |
