Chapter 6 Conclusion

Many people make the mistake of assuming that credit bureaus exist to serve individual consumers—and get frustrated with the lack of responsiveness and customer service that the credit bureaus have traditionally offered.

If you remember that you’re not the credit bureau’s primary customer, you may understand the cool reception the credit bureaus give you.

The problem with this approach to the handling of credit information is that it accepts a higher level of inefficiency than most consumers would like. In this way, the credit industry is something like the health insurance industry—in both cases, the primary customers (lenders, in the case of credit bureaus; employers, in the case of health insurance) are not the end-users of the services being sold.

An economist looking at this system would likely conclude that it’s not intended for efficiency, if efficiency means timely and accurate exchange with the greatest number of users. Industry insiders claim that the inefficiency makes credit information hard to manipulate and—in theory—more reliable. For lenders.

Next: Chapter 7 - Who Can Look at Your Credit